


Blue Ocean Bakery

by gabbi73



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bakery, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:47:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24472279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gabbi73/pseuds/gabbi73
Summary: This story is not set in the wizarding world, but rather just ordinary life.Draco is tired of his stressful life as the CEO of Malfoy Company. One day he decides to take a closer look at the small bakery that lies between his home and the Company. He finds the peaceful atmosphere to be just what he needed, and it doesn't hurt that the black-haired pastry girl is cute.However, seeing the similar-looking, but manly black-haired guy that also seems to work there, catches Draco's attention. Who is he? Why did Draco have to stare at him? It was just because of the guy being unusually handsome, right?That was definitely it...A story of a tired CEO worker, and a carefree bakery owner.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 16
Kudos: 151





	1. The door opens

Draco sighed as he once again exited the vast building named Malfoy Company. He had been working there since he was 19 and it had now been seven years. Perhaps it would be considered a big achievement for anyone to have become the youngest CEO of Malfoy Company at the age of 26, however, to Draco it only meant more work that would add to his already exhausting schedule. 

‘I’ll be dead before I reach 30 at this point…’ Draco thought to himself as he started walking back to his villa. 

Draco had started to enjoy walking back to his villa rather than taking his car, as the town was small and beautiful with cherry blossom trees and flowers making the sidewalks look like paintings. 

If nothing else, the walk home was what managed to calm Draco down a bit. He was glad that his father had decided to put up the main office in this small town rather than in one of the big cities around England. 

His father had said something about making it look more ‘homely’ in order for more people to want to work with them. It was perhaps a good business tactic, Draco thought, but to him it didn’t really matter. He was just glad to be able to escape the big cities where he had spent most of his life. 

Yes, in the beginning it had been fun, going to parties all around the country and hanging out with people non-stop. But when the time had come for him to seriously step into the company and work towards becoming the new CEO, he had realised how difficult it could actually be. 

Having to accommodate to other people every single day and going to endless meetings day in and day out had really taken a toll on him. Yet, this was his destiny and he wasn’t keen on trying to change any of it. Even if he had been, it would be too tiresome as he was already at zero energy most days.

‘Was this it?’ Draco thought to himself. Was he just going to continue with this life every day until he died? Nothing else? Draco had started to feel the emptiness more and more during the last year as he had moved to his small town and taken over the role as CEO. Most of the meetings was online with people from all around the world, and it had made it possible for him to stay in such a secluded town rather than having to fly around the globe on a daily basis. However, it also meant less time to interact with people, and it had definitely made it difficult to even consider dating. 

Draco stopped as he, for once, looked around the small town. He usually put on music and kept his eyes on the sea that he could see all the way from his home to Malfoy company.

He hadn’t really explored the town since he had moved here. The first year had gone by in what felt like a second, as he had been more than busy enough with getting settled into his home and trying to keep up with the never-ending work schedule. 

So instead of taking his normal route straight back home, he crossed the sidewalk to peruse the few stores that were bathing in the afternoon sun. 

There wasn’t a lot of stores here, as most of the stores were located a bit further into the town centre. Draco did, however, pause at the small bakery that was welcoming him with a colourful ‘Blue Ocean Bakery' sign. The bakery was beautifully painted and looked almost like a post card in Draco’s opinion. 

Although it was just on the other side of the road, he took on the way home, Draco had never really stopped to look at it before. Same as the other stores a bit further ahead, this small bakery was warm and welcoming as it was standing there glittering in the sun. 

‘I might as well take a look’ Draco thought before making his way to the door. 

“Welcome!” Draco saw a pretty dark-haired girl smile at him as he entered the bakery. There were a few customers scattered around, all looking content as they were eating, chatting or reading books. It gave off a peaceful atmosphere Draco thought. 

“What can I get you?” The dark-haired girl was undoubtedly cute in the baby blue uniform she was wearing. And her welcoming smile wasn’t bad either Draco thought. 

“Ah… Could I get one of those” Draco looked at the many pastries lined up neatly behind the counter. “And an iced tea, please”.

“Sure! Coming right up” She was definitely full of energy and it made Draco a bit less stressed just looking at her. 

He went over to one of the tables that had a view of the street and the ocean that seemed to be intertwining with the sky in the far distance. 

“Here you go!” Draco thanked her before getting out his book that he had been trying to read between meetings, with very little success. 

For once Draco could actually breathe, he thought. This gave him a feeling of being away on a vacation and to be honest, he felt like he deserved a bit of rest now after having had no time for himself during the past years. 

After a while of reading and eating the incredible pastry, Draco decided it was time to head back home and get back to the reality of work and little to no sleep. 

He started packing his stuff as he heard a deep voice “Thank you for coming, hope we’ll see you again”. Draco looked up a bit surprised as he was expecting the black-haired girl, but instead  
found himself looking into the eyes of a dark-haired male who had some seriously scary resemblance to the black-haired girl. Must be her brother, Draco thought. 

“Are you okay?” Now there was a hint of worry in the eyes looking down at him. “Huh?” Draco hadn’t realised that he was staring. “Y-yeah! I’m fine, thank you!” He hurriedly gathered his stuff, said a quick goodbye before leaving the bakery. 

He had walked for a bit before he stopped. ‘What the hell?’ Draco thought to himself. He had just made that interaction way more awkward with the fact that he had been staring openly at the guy in front of him. Probably freaked him out a bit, Draco thought. 

He hadn’t really meant to stare at him, and usually Draco was pretty good at handling his emotions and facial expressions as he had a lot of training from the constant meetings with ignorant douchebags. 

But why had he stared at him so much? Yeah, sure, even from a guy’s perspective that black-haired guy was handsome, do doubt. But why did he care? It’s not like he was gay or anything. He had just been taken a bit aback by the fact that the guy was unusually handsome is all. 

‘Ahhh… but can I go back there now?’ Draco thought to himself as he shook his head. The pastries had been amazing, and the black-haired girl was cute, yup! That’s it! Nothing else. Draco thought to himself as he opened the door to his home with one last thought of the bakery before focusing on work again. 

‘it was a nice place, so I’m sure it’s fine going back there…’


	2. Chocolate Strawberry Cake

Draco stood outside the Blue Ocean Bakery, clutching his umbrella. It had been a week since his first visit. He had been swamped with work all week, and it was finally time to once more sit down with a book and allow time to slow down a bit. Even with the heavy rain cascading down the windows of his office, Draco had decided to walk back home once again. He had been waiting for a day where he would be able to enjoy some peace without having to sit in the complete silence of his villa. The bakery had been such a place to him. Not too crowded, and not too deserted. It was a perfect mix of having people around him without it being overly noisy. The heavy rain was also making the bakery seem even more inviting. 

“Welcome” Draco looked up to see the dark-haired guy from yesterday leaning over the counter.

“Hi” Draco said back, looking around. It was pretty quiet today with only a few customers scattered around. 

“Not a lot of customer on days like these” the guy said, as he took Draco’s order.

“Yeah, quite different from last time I was here” Draco said back, trying to sound interested, although he wasn’t a fan of small talk, but the guy had a soothing voice, so maybe it wasn’t too bad. He also should try to get some friends in the area, as his circle of friends at work was fairly limited, and actually having some friends outside of the workplace could be a good change of pace. 

“Yup, the weather really doesn’t help, most people don’t bother to go out when it’s like this, and it’ll only get worse the next days”. Draco payed for his meal, which consisted of a homemade sandwich and a coffee. 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t have done it either if I didn’t have to” Draco said back, suddenly wondering if he might’ve sounded rude by saying it like that, so he quickly made a follow-up “but since I have work, it’s nice to have something to look forward to before heading home”. Oh great… Now it just seemed like he was a sad, lonely guy taking refuge in the warmth of the tiny bakery. 

“Yeah, customers feeling that way is what makes it all worth it for me” The guy grinned, making Draco’s eyes linger a bit longer than necessary. He once again took note of the fact that the guy in front of him was fairly handsome even in a guy’s opinion. 

Draco nodded and went over to the same table he had been sitting at the week before. It was quiet in the bakery, the people around him seemed to have had the same intention as most were either reading something or quietly going about their day. 

Draco had been sitting there for a while, immersed in the book. 

“Here you go” Draco looked up from his book to see the bakery guy position what seemed like a chocolate strawberry cake in front of him. 

“Huh? Um…” Draco got a bit taken aback by the fact that he hadn’t ordered it. “Oh! Don’t worry it’s on the house. It’s a new recipe I’ve been working on, so I just like to get the customers opinions” The guy smiled at him. 

The cake did indeed look amazing and although Draco hated receiving stuff for free, mostly because it always meant a favour in return when it came to his work, he also felt it would be too much of a shame to turn down something looking this good. 

Yes, he did have a sweet tooth and it was something he would never tell anyone at work. 

“Oh, then thank you” Draco said back. “You want a refill?” The guy pointed at the coffee, and Draco nodded and said his thanks as the guy placed a hot cup of coffee on the table, before going over to serve one of the other customers.

Draco took a bite of the cake, and he really couldn’t believe something could even taste this good. Beside the quiet atmosphere, the pastries at this place was insane Draco thought to himself. He had tasted a big variety of pastries before and most of them being from high class restaurants or bakeries, yet, somehow, they couldn’t compete with the few pastries he had tried out at this bakery. 

It made him a bit curious as to why someone who was such a good baker would be working in a small-town bakery compared to at a high-class restaurant or so. The salary would be on a completely different level, Draco thought. 

But each to their own, Draco thought. He was aware of the fact that people have their own reasons for what they do in life, and he had learned not to bother too much with other people’s business. It might be why he had a hard time making friends, or maybe it was just his lack of interest in properly getting to know other people. 

He decided not to linger too long in those thoughts as he continued reading his book and enjoying the delicious cake. 

He didn’t even realise as time passed by and the customers, one after another started to head home for the day. 

Draco once again looked up from his book as he heard some thudding noise. He looked around only to find that there were no other customers left in the bakery, and the dark-haired guy was currently putting away the chairs and cleaning. 

“Oh! I didn’t realise it was this late already” Draco said, feeling a bit embarrassed for not having realised what was happening around him. He hated being seen as a bother to others. 

“It’s fine, it always takes a while to get all the cleaning done anyway, so I don’t mind having some company while I work” the guy smiled, making Draco honestly believe what the guy was saying.

“Oh, well I should probably go now anyway” Draco gathered his things and started heading for the door.

“By the way…” Draco said turning to the guy once more “the cake you gave me… It was pretty amazing. It’s gotta be one of the best cakes I’ve tasted”.

“That’s quite the compliment” The guy grinned “Thank you! I was considering making it a regular, but it’s always nice to get some feedback on it before doing so”. 

Draco said his goodbyes and headed outside. The rain was still pouring down, and after gripping tightly on to the umbrella handle, Draco headed home.


	3. A cosy fireplace, long talks and stormy weather

Two days had passed since Draco had gone to the bakery. Was he starting to get addicted to it? He thought. 

The weather was only getting worse, but the reminder of the calm and warm atmosphere at the bakery made Draco take a bold decision. 

He was at this point clinging to his umbrella with all his might, as he first now realised just how stupid he had been for believing he could walk through this terrible weather. 

At one point it felt like he was going to be dragged off to the sea by the strong wind, howling around him. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he saw the outline of the bakery come into sight.

Draco scurried over to the door and pulled it. 

Well… just my luck… Draco sighed as he realised the bakery was closed.

Oh god… Draco thought to himself as the weather was starting to look more like a serious storm at this point. 

Was he really going to have to walk all the way back home in this weather? He had decided to hurry over to the bakery and stay there until the stormy weather subsided a bit, but now he suddenly had no other choice than to try and walk through it. 

Draco jumped in surprise as a door beside the bakery opened up behind him. He turned around to see the all too familiar face of the bakery guy.

“I thought I heard someone outside. What are you doing here?” the guy asked him.

“Ah, well I was thinking about taking shelter at the bakery until the storm gave up, but I didn’t realise it was closed before now” Draco said back a bit embarrassed for not having seen the sign on the door that had stated the bakery would be closed the following days because of the weather. 

“Sorry about that, I’m so used to the customers being from around here, so normally we don’t talk much about it and everyone just knows that when the weather gets bad everything kinda just closes down for a while”. The guy said, weirdly apologetic to something Draco felt was his own fault. 

“I see… Well, I should probably get a bit more familiar with how everything works around here” Draco said back, knowing he had taken very little interest in the small town since he moved here. 

“Yeah, it’s not too much going on here, but the weather is definitely one of the things the locals have a lot of knowledge on. Especially when the storms hit” The guy said before continuing “Do you want to come in for a bit? The storm is getting pretty out of hand, and I would become worried if I just sent you on your way like this”.

“I don’t want to be a bother, I’m sure I’ll be able to get back home” Draco said back, feeling a bit torn between not wanting to bother others and the dreadful thought of having to walk through this weather. 

“It’s not a bother at all! I’m just working on a new cherry pie recipe, so it would also help me out if you were to taste it and say what you think of it”. The guy made a compelling case, as the thought of a warm piece of pie sounded awfully nice. 

“Well, I guess until the storm clears a bit…” Draco said, unable to resist the good offer in front of him. 

Draco followed the guy into the hallway the had stairs leading up to the second floor. 

“You live above the bakery?” Draco asked as they walked up the stairs. 

“Yeah, it’s a nice combination of having my workplace easily accessible whenever I want to work on big projects. A bit easier to just walk upstairs instead of having to travel back and forth when I do all-nighters” The guy said and opened the door to a warm and cosy flat. 

The apartment felt neither too small nor too big and Draco noted that it looked rather stylish, but homely as well. 

It felt nice getting into a warm place, as he had been freezing on his way over to the bakery. He hung up his soaked jacket and umbrella and took of his shoes. He realised even his shoes had become drenched from the rain. Great… Draco thought.

He had never been the type to put functional over fashion, which was now coming back to bite him as he felt uncomfortable in his wet clothes clinging to his body.

“Oh wow… You’re completely drenched!” The guy said as he had turned to properly look at Draco. 

“Yeah… Not really used to this type of weather” Draco felt embarrassed, as his appearance had always been important to him. Now he felt pretty shabby in front of this guy that managed to look stylish even in a black t-shirt and jeans. 

“Don’t worry, you can borrow my shower if you want to. I’ll get you some dry clothes in the meantime” Draco was stunned for a moment, as he realised the weirdness of the whole situation.

He barely knew the guy in front of him, and now here he was drenched at his doorstep and about to take a shower at this guy’s place. They weren’t even friends, wasn’t this a bit too weird? Draco thought. 

It was then that he also realised another thing. He didn’t know the guy’s name either. They were literally strangers, but somehow, they were talking as if they were old childhood friends. 

Guess this is how a small-town works, Draco thought. He had realised that the people in this small-town seemed eager to help each other at any given time, which was very different from what Draco was used to in the big city life. 

He wanted to decline the offer of a shower, based on the weirdness of it, but the thought of having to sit in his already wet clothes seemed less favourable at this point.

“Okay” Draco said as he was shown to the bathroom and the guy hurrying off to find him some clothes. 

“Just take your time, I’ll be working on the pie in the meantime” The guy said as he laid down the clothes on the drawer next to the shower. 

“Thank you“ Draco said back. 

He turned on the water and couldn’t help but feel relaxed as he felt the hot water on his body. He hadn’t even realised just how cold he had been. It would’ve probably made him sick if he hadn’t taken a shower at this point, he thought. 

After getting out of the shower, Draco put on the clothes he had been given. There was a certain simplicity to the style of the clothes, but it seemed to suit the bakery guy quite a lot. 

Draco took a look at the bathroom. It was rather spacious and had both a shower and bathtub in it. The place definitely looked nice and cosy. It also seemed so different from Draco’s own home. His villa was big and beautiful, but it also felt a bit dark and empty as it was too big for one person alone to live in. But it was all part of the appearance Draco’s father had told him. 

Although Draco had always listened to his father, he still couldn’t help but like this smaller and much more homely place he was currently in. 

He stepped out of the bathroom and the smell of pie instantly filled the room. It was amazing to even experience this type of homely feeling, Draco thought to himself. 

As he walked over to the living room, he saw that the fireplace was lit up and it cast a warm, golden light throughout the room and with the rain hitting the windows with force, it felt unimaginably great to be inside at this moment. It really was different from what he was used to, Draco noted. 

“Here” The guy walked over with a plate of pie in each hand. He put it down on the small table in front of the couch. 

Draco walked over and took a seat. The pie smelled amazing and it looked incredible as well. 

“Dig in! Oh, but if you don’t like it or think it should be changed or something don’t hesitate to tell me. It’s always nice to get another’s opinion on it”. The guy stopped for a while as if something had suddenly occurred to him “Wait… I haven’t introduced myself, have I?” He said, and Draco suddenly also realised the fact that he didn’t even know the name of the guy he had just taken a shower at. 

“Yeah… I don’t think we have” Draco laughed a bit at the absurdity of it all.

“Sorry about that! In this town most people know each other, and it’s not often people from outside of the city comes here, so I don’t normally make a lot of introductions” the guy said back a bit apologetic.

“I’m Harry by the way, and you are?” The guy said as he extended his hand for a shake.

“Draco” Draco said back as he shook his hand.

“That’s an unusual name. I haven’t heard it before” Harry said. Draco was fairly used to people finding his name a bit weird.

“Yeah, I guess it’s kinda weird, but when I asked my dad about it, he told me an unusual name leaves a bigger impression” Draco felt a bit embarrassed. Most people didn’t really seem to like things that were unusual, but despite that, everyone had nodded in agreement just because they knew his background and wanted to be on the good side of the Malfoy family. 

“I don’t think it’s weird at all. It’s more like it fits you well” The guy smiled as he took a bite of the pie. 

Draco just stared for a minute, as he wasn’t used to this positive and welcoming behaviour. 

“Thank you…” Draco muttered as he took a bite of the pie as well. 

“This is amazing!” Draco looked up in awe at the guy in front of him. To him it was a bit difficult to comprehend how someone could just be this naturally good at something. Sure, he was good at his job, but he had worked hard every single day for it and even then, he felt like he never truly got to a point of feeling satisfied with his work.

Harry, on the other hand, seemed so effortlessly good at baking. Everything he had tasted this far had been better than anything he had previously tasted. 

“Really? That’s great! Then I’ll try adding it to the list. I’m currently making a new list of pastries that I will launch in the bakery for this season. Since it’s autumn, the pie seemed appropriate” 

“Yeah, I can definitely see myself wanting to buy that on a cold afternoon like this” Draco said agreeing with the choice of pastry. His reasons might also be a bit biased as he loves pie, but he had never tasted a pie that could compare to this one. The guy in front of him might actually be a genius, Draco thought. 

They talked for a long while about Harry’s pastries and Draco’s work. Harry was a rather easy guy to talk to and he also seemed genuinely interested in whatever Draco was telling him. It felt like, Draco thought, as it had been far too long since he had gotten along with someone else this well. 

Draco almost didn’t realise how late it had gotten as he looked at his watch.

“Oh wow… I didn’t mean to stay for this long” Draco said, feeling a bit bummed out for having to end the conversation. Just casually getting to know someone and not feeling like there were any ulterior motives behind it was refreshing. 

Usually Draco didn’t enjoy spending too much time with other people, but for once, he didn’t feel stressed out by it. Instead, the whole atmosphere of the apartment and the calmness emitted from Harry made Draco feel like he was actually able to recharge and enjoy himself. 

“Oh! I hadn’t realised how late it had gotten” Harry said, before looking over at the window. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to stop though…” He said as he pointed towards the window.

Draco felt dread sweep over him at the thought of having to go back out into the storm at this late hour. 

“It might be a bit sudden, and you don’t have to, but I do have a guest room. So, if you’d like, you’re more than welcome to stay over”. 

Again, Draco had to remind himself of the fact that the people in this town was unbelievable kind to one another. Or maybe it was just a normal hospitality to these guys, Draco thought. 

Although he once again wanted to decline the offer, he fell victim to the cosy warmth from the fireplace and hearing the heavy rain continue to beat down on the windows, made it even harder to decline.

“Thank you, that would really save me” Draco said, a bit amazed at his own decision. He usually never would’ve agreed to something like this, considering he barely knew the guy. However, Harry had been such a comfortable person to be around, and Draco couldn’t help but feel like he missed having someone like this around him. 

Harry then went to make some hot chocolate to both of them before they settled down on the couch again and continued talking for a while longer. 

After a while both decided it was time to head to bed, and Harry had put Draco’s clothes to dry over the night. 

Perhaps it was the faint crackling of a fireplace slowly quieting down, or the feeling of not being all alone in a giant villa, but Draco slept better than he had in what felt like forever.


	4. Confusion and gifts

Draco woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. For a moment he was unsure of where he was before he remembered that he had stayed over at Harry’s place.

He looked at his watch, it was not too long before he had to get to work. He groaned as he didn’t want to get out from the warm bed. He was certainly not a morning person. 

When he eventually managed to drag himself out of bed, he opened the door to the living room and was greeted with a nice smell. 

He went over to the dining table where breakfast had already been placed. He looked at a note next to the food.

“Good morning! I had to leave early to get some ingredients from a nearby village, please eat the breakfast I made for you and you don’t need to lock up before you leave. Have a good day!” The note said. 

Draco sat down and poured himself some coffee from the thermos. The breakfast was delicious and so different from his usual breakfast. He never felt that motivated for breakfast, so it usually ended up with him just grabbing a protein bar on his way out. 

The breakfast placed in front of him was on a whole other level. Having both a delicious sandwich as well as yoghurt and fruit mixed together was definitely a better option.

Draco put on his now dry clothes that Harry had folded and placed on one of the dining table chairs. He went down the stairs and outside. 

The storm had finally subsided, and a hint of sunlight was streaming through the clouds of this cold autumn morning.

Draco normally didn’t enjoy the cold and crisp air that always came with autumn, but for once he felt lighter and more content as he made his way over to the Malfoy Company. 

The next couple of weeks, Draco spent a lot of time at the bakery. He felt like he was getting closer to Harry each day, and the guy was so easy to talk to. It was become a habit at this point that Draco would do some taste testing for Harry’s new recipes. He really had no idea why his opinions would be useful, but Harry had insisted that it helped him in choosing which pastry to put on the menu. 

Draco felt more content than he had in years. Finally, it felt like he had found someone who he could easily hold both light and deep conversations with. He wasn’t feeling that gloomy anymore as he made his way back home to his villa. Being able to look forward to the days where he could go and hang out at the bakery made it so much easier to deal with his usually stressful work hours. 

“You said you worked as a CEO, huh? Must be a lot of work” Harry said as they were sitting in Harry’s living room. Draco had been working extra hours, and when texting Harry that he wouldn’t make it in time before the bakery closed, Harry had told him to come once he was done and he would make him some dinner.

It felt nice to be able to relax like this after a stressful day at work, Draco thought.

“Yeah, the endless meetings are often giving me a headache”.

“But it’s closing in on Christmas now, will you be able to take some days of for it?” Harry placed two cups of coffee on the table in front of them. The dinner had been amazing as always, and just hanging out and relaxing like this was making life much easier for Draco.

“Yeah, we always close up for a few days around Christmas. Makes everyone in the company a lot happier as well”. 

“I can image” Harry chuckled. “How are you spending Christmas by the way? You’re going to spend it with your family?”.

“No… Well, my parents are currently traveling, so it’s not really possible” Draco first now realised the fact that he would probably end up alone at Christmas eve. He wasn’t too bothered by it, as it had happened a few times before as well. However, it just seemed a bit lonelier this year as he wouldn’t be going to his city friends’ parties. He didn’t feel like traveling back to the big city just for that. He really didn’t feel tempted to join various parties at this point. Perhaps he was just a bit tired, he thought to himself. 

“Then… You’re staying here?” Harry asked.

“Yes, I think so”

“Well, no pressure, but if you want, you’re welcome to celebrate here. It’s just my sister and her boyfriend and two of my friends, so one more is always welcomed” Harry smiled, and had Draco heard even a hint of pity in the guy’s voice, he would’ve instantly declined, but to be honest, there was no inclination of Harry feeling pity towards him. Instead it felt like a genuine invitation. 

“I guess that doesn’t sound so bad” Draco said back. He knew he would regret it if he didn’t accept the offer given to him. Although he was experienced in spending Christmas alone, it wasn’t really something he himself wished for. 

“Great!” 

They both continued talking and enjoying each other’s company.

\-----

A few days later and Draco was making his way over to the bakery. He opened the door and was greeted by a room bustling with customers. It seemed like a lot of the customers were taking a trip to the bakery in the few days before Christmas.

Draco saw Harry chatting to some of the customers, so he headed over to the counter instead.

“Hey there! You wanna try out the new special? I’ve made a pumpkin spice latte for the holiday season” Amelia said. She was Harry’s little sister, and she shared quite a lot of similarities to her brother in appearance and her personality was also the nice type although a bit more upfront when it came to voicing her opinions. Draco quite liked her strong and confident attitude.

“Sure!” Draco said and before he could continue she said “Oh, and the croissant that Harry’s made fits really well with it, do you want to add that as well?” 

“Yes, that sounds good” Draco smiled before heading to an empty seat.

Draco got out some of his work that he had still to finish. He had made a convincing argument for himself as to how it would be good for him to get out of the office for a bit and have a change of working environment. It was perhaps more of an excuse to go to the bakery instead of working overtime at the company or at home, but Draco thought it was a good enough excuse. 

“I heard you’re going to spend Christmas with us, right?” Draco looked up to find Amelia placing the pumpkin spice latte and croissant on the table. 

“Oh… Uh… Yeah, I hope I’m not intruding” Draco felt a bit awkward as he hadn’t fully thought about the possibility that Amelia wouldn’t like the idea of having him join in on their Christmas party.

“Not at all! I’m just happy that Harry feels so comfortable with you that he wanted to invite you. He seems pretty happy about it”. Amelia sat down on the empty chair beside him, brushing off Draco’s worries about the bakery with a “I’m on a break”. 

“So… What are you going to give him for Christmas?” 

Draco looked at Amelia a bit confused “What?”

“I mean, like what Christmas present will you give him? Or is it secret? I know Harry has been pretty busy getting one for you”.

“Are you serious? I… Oh… “ Draco didn’t know what to say. He had completely forgotten about presents, and frankly, he hadn’t expected that he would get any.

“Well, even if you don’t know what to give him yet, I guess you know him pretty well by now, so you’ll figure it out. Oh! And don’t worry about the others, we don’t normally give presents, so I think he’s just going to give it to you secretly” Amelia grinned. She was obviously enjoying whatever was going on.

“Ah… But he’s good at being considerate… Me on the other hand” Draco didn’t know why, but he was actually feeling surprisingly anxious about not finding the right gift for Harry.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be thrilled with whatever you give him. Just find something you think he’ll like, and I’m sure he’ll love it”.

“You think so?” Draco looked at Amelia and she gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before getting up to leave.

“Of course, he likes you a lot you know” She grinned before heading over to the counter.

Draco sighed. He had no idea where to even start. Yes, he had become really fond of Harry during the months they had known each other, but would it really be okay to just give him something he himself think he’ll like?

Draco sat there for a while contemplating what he should do about the situation. 

“Hey! Sorry, it’s been really busy today. Do you want to wait for me to close up and then have some coffee at my place?” Harry asked as he came over to Draco’s table.

“Sure” Draco smiled back and continued his work until Harry was done cleaning up.

They headed up the stairs to Harry’s apartment.

“Is it okay if I take a quick shower first?” Harry asked, and Draco nodded as he went over to the living room. He had started to become really comfortable being there. 

“Just make yourself at home, you can watch TV, oh and also there’s iced tea in the fridge” Harry said as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Draco watched TV for a while, until he decided to get some iced tea. He headed to the fridge and filled up a glass before heading back. 

He jumped as the door to the bathroom swung open and the iced tea spilled all over his sweater.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” Harry exclaimed as he saw Draco standing there drenched. 

“I-It’s fine” Draco stammered a bit. He was more surprised by seeing Harry in only in a towel. Sure, you could kind of see through his clothes that Harry had to be somewhat well built, but seeing him almost completely naked, he was definitely full of muscles.

“I forgot my clothes, so I was just going to get them. Oh, but you should change as well” Harry said as he took the glass from Draco’s hand and grabbed hold of Draco’s sweater about to take it off.

Draco didn’t know what was happening, he felt his cheeks flush red and he got weirdly embarrassed. 

“It’s okay!” Draco held back his sweater before Harry could pull it off. 

“I’m alright, I… I just realised I had some unfinished work I really need to get done by the day. I’m sorry, I’ll just head home for now” Draco stumbled on his words, as he quickly grabbed his jacket and shoes before saying a quick ‘bye’ and heading out the door before Harry could get a word in.

Draco felt uncomfortable as he was walking back home with a soaked sweater. 

What had happened? Draco thought to himself. Why had he been so bothered by seeing Harry half naked? They were both guys so it really shouldn’t have mattered, right? 

But then why was he feeling so bothered by it? Draco though. He did find Harry’s appearance to be attractive, but any guy would be able to agree on the fact that Harry was attractive. It was just a fact, nothing more… 

As Draco closed the door to his home, he sighed. 

This had been a weird day...


	5. Dreams and reality

“I’m glad you could come…” Harry said with a voice filled with emotions Draco didn’t fully understand.

“To be honest, you’re one of my closest friends so of course I’d come” Draco said back as he hung up his jacket and followed Harry into the living room. They sat down on the couch. 

“I know this might be a bit sudden, but I can’t help it” 

“What do you-“ Draco was cut off before he could finish his sentence as Harry leaned forward and kissed him. 

It was a long kiss and Draco was too surprised to even resist it at first.

“What are you doing?” Draco looked baffled at Harry when he finally tore himself from the passionate kiss.

“I like you, I can’t hide it anymore” Harry said, stroking a hand carefully across Draco’s cheek.

“I… I don’t really understand” Draco couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Don’t you like me as well?” Harry gave him a look full of hope and desperation. Draco could feel himself having trouble resisting the guy in front of him. He looked so vulnerable and… cute…? 

“Of course I would never hate you!” Draco said back, gripping the hand that was stroking his cheek. 

Harry smiled warmly and kissed Draco once more “I love you” he said as he pushed forward making Draco fall back onto the couch with Harry hovering over him.

“I want to make you mine” Harry said as he leaned down and started kissing Draco’s neck. It made Draco shudder, but he didn’t resist it. It felt… good… Draco thought. 

Harry continued slowly making his way down his neck and collarbone, opening Draco’s shirt and tracing kisses down his stomach. 

“This… I…” Draco stuttered “I… I don’t know… what to do” he was feeling embarrassed as he felt so vulnerable, but at the same time the dominant side of Harry was making him feel aroused. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll do everything” Harry smirked as he continued downward.

Draco gasped as he jolted up in his bed. 

What the hell?! Draco thought to himself. He could feel his heartbeat at an incredible speed and pulling aside his covers, he saw the result of the far too vivid dream. 

Great, Draco thought to himself as he got up and threw his underwear in the washing machine. 

\---

Each minute felt like hours as Draco was sitting in his office making phone calls and doing live meetings. 

He wasn’t able to focus on work at all, and it was probably the first time he had been making this many mistakes. 

“You alright, boss?” One of Draco’s subordinates asked him as he was drowning his cup in coffee. 

“Oh! Yeah, just lacking some sleep” Draco waved it off, as he got some paper to clean up the spilled coffee. 

Draco went back to his office and continued working and adding in some extra hours. 

It’s because I’ve been falling behind on work lately, Draco thought to himself as he didn’t want to admit the fact that he wasn’t all too keen on meeting Harry at the moment. 

The excuse of being behind on his work hadn’t been that accurate as he after a few hours over time was done with the few things he had been postponing in order to spend time at the bakery. 

As the last employee left for the day, Draco sat there in the huge building all by himself.

It was silence around him, he was finally unable to escape the thoughts he had to properly process at some point. 

That dream… Was it because I’m pent up? But then why would I dream about a guy instead of a girl? I’m not gay, Draco thought to himself. Was it because he had become such good friends with Harry as of lately? But why would that include him dreaming about him in such a way?

Draco groaned as he was getting nowhere with this. It couldn’t be that he liked Harry, right? He didn’t! He just… Draco stopped for a moment, what did he feel for Harry? Was it possible that he wasn’t even aware of his feelings? 

I got it! Draco thought to himself as he got out a sheet of paper and decided to write a list of things that made him like Harry just in general. And then he would be able to see whether or not those things would be more romantic or more friendly.

Alright, Draco made a mental image of Harry. Let’s start with appearance. 

1\. He’s handsome, but anyone would think so, even guys.  
2\. He’s got quite some defined muscles which did make me a bit flustered, but that’s just jealousy.   
3\. His eyes are emerald green and sure they are pretty, but… oh well…  
4\. His hair is always a bit messy but in a way it just looks cool and makes me want to touch it.

Draco stopped his writing for a moment and looked at it. Well… it doesn’t mean I’m in love or anything, Draco thought. Yes, Harry’s personality was the kind you would easily be drawn in by because he was thoughtful and kind to everyone around him. He always listed well to anything you told him and he was great at cheering Draco up. 

“Bloody hell!” Draco exclaimed in the empty office. Was it really like this? Did he have a crush on a guy? No freaking way! 

Draco got his coat and went down to his car. He was not going to go over to the bakery today. He couldn’t… He needed time to properly go through whatever emotions he was currently battling with.

\----

The next day Draco was still considering heading home straight after work, but before he could make good on that promise to himself, his phone beeped.

It was a message from Harry ‘Hi! Are you coming to the bakery today? I have a new recipe, but I would like your opinion on it’. 

Draco sighed. He couldn’t run from his problems forever.

“Hi! I was afraid you wouldn’t come” Harry grinned as he walked over to Draco. 

“Oh, well… I’ve just been a bit busy…” Draco could feel himself having trouble being convincing with his words.

“Of course, sorry if I take too much of your time” Harry said apologetic as he knew how much work Draco had to do on a daily basis.

“It’s fine, I get to try out some good pastries so it’s well worth my time” Draco chuckled back. He felt a bit more relieved at how normal Harry acted.

And Harry acting normal and clueless was incredibly good for Draco, because at this point he was being far too aware of Harry and his confusing feelings towards the guy.

“Alright, let’s head into the back then” Harry smiled, and Draco followed him into the back of the bakery.

He had spent quite some time there lately, trying out new recipes and Amelia forcing him to find the drink that worked the best with the given pastry. They had apparently had some really good feedback on the combinations decided by Draco, so now Amelia had also started to take an interest in having Draco test out the new pastries and drinks. Amelia was an exceptional barista and she took much pride in her work. But she said that she wasn’t too good at finding the best combinations of drinks and foods that went well together.

Draco sat down as Harry placed a cheesecake on the small staff table. He then sat down opposite of Draco. 

“This is amazing! It even tastes like Christmas” Draco said in awe, it once again showed just how good of a baker Harry was.

“Yeah, I added homemade gingerbread on the bottom of it. I thought it would be perfect for the holiday season” Harry grinned.

“This would definitely be a great thing to add to the desert table at Christmas” Draco said as he continued eating. 

Draco noticed that Harry was being silent for some reason, as he looked up, he was met with those emerald green eyes staring directly at him. 

Once again, Draco could feel his cheeks warming up. This time, however, the reason for it was the awkward similarities of those eyes staring at him in his previous dream. 

“Are…Are you okay?” Draco asked feeling a bit uncomfortable with the silence and the staring. 

“Yeah… I’m just wondering if you are?” Draco looked at him questionably. 

“You ran out the door at full speed two days ago, and it all just felt so rushed, so I just wondered if something was wrong, or if I did anything that made you feel uncomfortable that day” 

“No! Don’t worry! Everything is fine, I just got a bit stressed out about the work I had forgotten all about, so I rushed a bit too much I guess” Draco said as an excuse to the whole mess that had happened two days ago. 

“Oh… Well, as long as everything is fine” Harry said, Draco could feel that Harry wasn’t overly convinced, but he was kind enough to let it be it seemed like.

They chatted a bit more, until Harry had to go back to tend to the customers. Draco was stopped before he could leave, as Amelia got hold of him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Amelia said, blocking his path.

“…Home…?” Draco answered, unsure as to what was going on.

“Give me 5 minutes first!” Amelia said “I have five different kinds of drinks that I think would maybe suit the new cheesecake recipe, but you have to try them and tell me”.

“I guess this is my second job now, huh?” Draco chuckled. 

“You bet!” Amelia grinned back at him. 

Draco stared for a while at the beautiful girl in front of him. She had long dark brown hair and shared the same emerald green eyes as her brother. So then why? Why didn’t Draco feel any attraction? She would be the type he would instantly fall for usually, but somehow; he didn’t feel anything romantic. 

“You alright?” Amelia looked at him with a hint of worry. 

“Huh? Oh yeah! No, just thinking, but sure let me try the drinks” 

Draco and Amelia chatted for a bit, as Draco made his decision on what drink would work the best with the cheesecake. 

“Thank you as always!” Amelia smiled “I can’t believe you have such a refined taste for things like this. If only I was the same” She sighed. 

“Well, there’s no way I could ever hope to make drinks as good as yours, though. You’re literally the best barista I have ever come across” Draco said back. 

“I would say flattery won’t get you anything, but the free drinks make it difficult to say that” Amelia joked. 

“I’ve told you I want to pay for them” Draco said back, having had this argument before.

“Nope! Your drink and pastry combining skills is making sales go up, so I won’t let you pay for doing a great job”.

“Also, you’re coming here almost daily, so you’re one of our best customers to start with. You deserve some free samples just for the effort, if you ask me” Amelia laughed. 

Draco laughed, he really thought himself to be lucky to have managed to befriend both the siblings of this bakery. They were both so similar, yet so different in personality. 

As Draco had just closed the door to the bakery behind him, Harry shouted after him “Wait up!”. 

“Here, I put together quick dinner for you. Of course, you don’t have to eat it, but I just thought you looked a bit tired, so maybe it would be nice not to have to make it yourself” Harry said as he handed him a plastic bag with a container inside it. 

“You just have to heat it up, but if you don’t feel like it you can eat it tomorrow instead. It’s good for another two days if put in the fridge”.

“Thank you…” Draco said as he accepted the bag. “I’ve had a pretty tiresome day, so this is actually really helpful” Draco smiled. 

This guy… Why was he so thoughtful and kind, Draco thought to himself. He was such great boyfriend material, but why was he using it on Draco instead of finding himself a girl? There was no way that girls wouldn’t be all over him. 

Draco had taken notice before of quite a few girls seemingly having their eyes on Harry. Many of them made some seriously obvious passes at the guy, but somehow, he seemed rather unaffected by it all. 

Draco looked at him for a moment. 

“Great! I’m glad. I was a bit worried with everything that happened these last couple of days, but I’m glad that you came to visit again. And try to take some breaks as well” Harry said as he reached his hand towards Draco.

Draco got a bit startled as he saw Harry’s hand about to touch him, but before he could react properly, Harry’s hand reach for his hair and he pulled it back with half a leaf in his hand.

“Sorry, it was in your hair” Harry said, looking at the leaf.

Draco stood there for a moment, shocked at the fact that he himself had been expecting…. Wait… What exactly had he been expecting? Draco thought to himself. 

“I should head home, I’ll see you later” Draco said and hurried off. 

\----

“You two have really gotten close in no time” Amelia said as Harry came back into the bakery. 

“Yeah, even I’m surprised at how well we get along. I didn’t expect us to become friends in the beginning, but he’s actually a really nice guy” Harry said as he joined Amelia behind the counter.

“Yeah, he’s definitely putting up with a lot of taste testing without complaining as well, so I would say pretty nice” Amelia said back. “And he’s really pretty as well…” Amelia added as an   
afterthought. 

“Yeah, I guess he would be considered the pretty type” Harry said back.

Amelia looked at him as he was arranging some of the pastries. He’s not even aware of what he’s actually saying, is he? She thought. 

“Well, I would say he’s more the beautiful type if I had to categorize him” Amelia said, wanting to see how far she could take this before Harry even realised what he was actually uttering about   
another guy. 

“Yeah, you’re right. His looks are kind off angelic I guess” Harry was still not seemingly aware of the fondness he was putting into those words.

Amelia found it interesting, as she had never heard her brother talk about any of his previous girlfriends in such a fashion. Although he always treated everyone nicely, he had always seemed more or less indifferent to people. This time however, Amelia could feel that something was different. He went to far greater lengths to keep in contact with Draco and he also seemed like he was actually enjoying his time whenever he was with the blonde guy. 

“Well, I’m glad you found someone you like to hang out with” Amelia said.

“Yeah, he’s a great guy, I’m glad I got to know him” Harry said.

“But if you want to get back home before your favourite TV show, you better pick up the pace” Harry chuckled at Amelia who had now hurriedly started cleaning. 

There was no way she was ever going to allow herself being late for the British bake-off show…. No way…


	6. Christmas celebrations

It was already mid-December, and Draco was having a mild crisis at this point. He had been exploring the few stores around the small town, trying to find something that would fit as a present. 

He didn’t know what would be good, and with how things had been going lately he was being too aware of the meaning behind his present. What if the gift seemed to romantic in a way, would that just make everything weird between them? But what if the gift was not personal enough and made it seem like he didn’t care?

“Damn it!” Draco said loudly to himself as he paced around the streets. This was way too frustrating and stressful, he thought to himself. 

In the end, Draco decided to head back empty handed. He would have to try again another day, he thought. 

As the next week passed by, Draco was starting to come to terms with what he was feeling. He had given up trying to run from it all and decided to at least accept it even a tiny bit. Still, he had no intentions of voicing these feelings in the near future. It was far too risky, and this whole situation of liking a guy was too new for him. 

\----

One more week passed by and Christmas was finally here. 

“Hi!” Hermione and Ron said as Draco entered the living room. He had met the two a couple of times at the bakery, but this was the first time he was properly spending a whole evening with them. They seemed like nice people though, so Draco wasn’t too worried. 

Draco had been right regarding both Hermione and Ron, they were both lively people who Draco felt was easy to get along with. Hermione was incredible smart and talking to her was a lot of fun since she shared many of the same interests with Draco.

Ron wasn’t as interested in the highly intellectual discussions, but he was easy to get along with and he had a good sense of humour. 

After a little while, Amelia’s boyfriend named Sebastian also showed up, apologizing for being late because of his shift at the hospital. 

As Draco got to know Sebastian a bit, he found him to be a calm guy with a lot of charm. He was definitely in the other spectre when it came to energy compared to Amelia who always seemed full of energy and mischief. They both seemed to bring out the best in each other though, Draco noted. 

They had dinner and desert, which was beyond what Draco had ever experienced before. He was extremely glad that he had accepted the invitation. 

This truly felt like a Christmas celebration. 

After dinner they gathered around the fireplace and the Christmas tree that was protecting the little bunch of presents underneath it. 

“Here you go!” Amelia said as she handed a present to Draco.

“You really didn’t have to” Draco said, feeling relieved at this point for having decided to give a present to Amelia as well. He hadn’t told her, because he thought she would most likely tell him it was fine and he didn’t have to, but he had the perfect gift so he couldn’t help it.

“Of course, I did! You’ve been a loyal customer and a good babysitter for my brother, so I need to thank you in some way” Amelia said jokingly with a big grin, as Harry gave her a disapproving look. 

Draco opened the gift to find a book he had once told Amelia about “You actually remembered that I talked about this?” Draco said, surprised that she actually did.

“Yup! I’m a good listener you know” She grinned. 

“Here’s one for you as well” Draco said as he handed Amelia a present.

“Oh?” Amelia looked a bit surprised at the fact that Draco had also prepared a present. Her eyes lit up the moment she opened it.

“Are you kidding me??” She exclaimed.

“What is it?” Hermione asked, as Amelia had grabbed the attention of everyone at this point.

She proudly held up the book in front of everyone “it’s the newest British bake-off book! And it’s even signed!” 

Amelia gave Draco a big hug, thanking him excessively. Draco had expected some joy over it, but this showed just how much she loved the show. He was glad that the endless conversations about it finally paid off. 

“Here” Harry turned to Draco with a neatly wrapped present in his hands.

Draco opened the gift. Inside was a beautiful glass sculpture of a deer. It had a light blue colour to it, and the details were amazing. 

“This is… incredible!” Draco said, studying the beautiful sculpture. 

“I like making glass sculptures, and I thought this would fit you nicely” Harry said proudly.

“Wait… You actually made this? It looks amazing!” Draco said in awe. So not just the best baker he had met, but also a great glass sculptor as well. 

“Here’s one for you as well” Draco said, as he gave Harry the present. 

“Oh wow!” Harry exclaimed as he opened the gift from Draco. “This is amazing!”.

“It’s just a basket filled with things that reminded me of you” Draco said, afraid of whether or not the gift was appropriate.

“Yeah, even the set of baking equipment I’ve been wanting for a long time” Harry seemed overly happy with the gift, making Draco relax a bit more.

“Yes… I remembered you telling me about it, so I thought it would be a good addition… I kinda panicked and just threw in a lot of things…” Draco said a bit embarrassed. 

“No… This is great… It’s the first time I’ve received a gift this well thought out. I can’t believe you remembered about all these things” Harry grinned.

“Thank you” Harry looked at him with sincere happiness in his eyes, giving Draco this weird feeling of… butterflies…? 

After the gift opening, everyone had just been sitting together in front of the fireplace and talking while consuming great amounts of eggnog. 

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I think it’s about time for me to hit the sack” Ron said, stretching.

“Yeah, I’m with you on that one” Hermione said yawning. 

They all agreed to go bed as the day had been tiring with all the festivities. 

Everyone was sleeping over at Harry’s place, as no one was especially keen on going outside in the cold weather. 

Harry had asked Draco if it was fine that Hermione and Ron slept in the guestroom. Draco had just looked at him for a moment, thinking it was funny how Harry felt he needed permission from Draco to give out his own guestroom.

“Amelia and Sebastian are taking the sofa” Harry said as he pulled the handle on the edge revealing a sofa bed. 

“Is it alright to sleep in my room? I don’t snore, so I won’t keep you awake” Harry joked as he headed towards the bedroom.

“S-sure…” Draco said, still not entirely sure if this was a good idea. He had never liked sleeping in the same bed as someone else. It always kept him awake the whole night no matter how quietly the other person was breathing. Draco just couldn’t handle it. 

As they got into the double sized bed in Harry’s room, Draco was afraid he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all that night. Hopefully the amount of eggnog would help him though. 

He had imagined it would be uncomfortable sleeping in the same bed, but somehow, he had instead felt peaceful and easily drifted off to sleep. 

Miraculously enough he slept better than he had in ages. Waking up the next morning Draco felt more refreshed than he had in a long time. 

What if he ended up not being able to sleep on his own anymore, just because he now knew how nice it could be to have someone else by his side? This wasn’t making sense at all though. He used to hate this, and now… Why was it fine?

This was seriously bad… Draco thought to himself.


	7. New Year Eve

The whole group had spent the morning after Christmas eating breakfast together and chatting away. It had been a lazy day with no one feeling particularly interested in leaving the comfortable sofa and the warm fire painting the room in an orange glow. 

“I wouldn’t be able to survive if it wasn’t for Seb being an amazing chef” Amelia grinned, as Hermione had been roasting Ron’s severe lack in cooking skills. 

“Yeah, it must’ve been hard the moment you couldn’t depend on Harry doing all the cooking anymore once you both moved out” Hermione said thoughtfully, before adding “Ron tried very hard in the beginning with pretending some of the things he bought from the bakery was made by himself”. 

Both Amelia and Sebastian started laughing at the fact that Ron had pretended to be a good chef. 

“Honestly, the day where I finally managed to get him to cook together with me was a disaster” Hermione said, giving Ron a look of both fondness and laughter.

“Hey! At least I gave it my best! Do you know how terrifying it was to have a best friend who’s such a great chef, and then there’s me, who can’t boil an egg” Ron huffed, but didn’t seem to take the jokes to heart.

“Well, I’m always happy to see you guys in the bakery, so I’m a bit glad for the lack of skills actually” Harry said with a big grin. 

“How about you Draco?” Hermione asked with a questioning look in her eyes.

“Huh?” Draco said, as he had just sat back and enjoyed the banter, not feeling particularly involved in the talks surrounding their long friendship, but nonetheless enjoying the atmosphere and the fun remarks. 

“Are you good at making food, or do you also depend on the microwave being your saviour?” Amelia added with a knowing look from having spent an hour crying when her microwave broke down on her once before meeting Sebastian and Harry being on vacation.

“Eh… Well, I’m not particularly good at it, no. I never really learnt how to cook or anything” Draco said, unsure of how much he should tell them about his life. 

It was all too common for Draco to have people look at him differently the moment he told them about his job and status. Everyone seemed to cling on a bit too much once they knew and then they all tried to use the friendship for their own gains. Growing up with this kind of thing happening on a regular basis had made him wary when it came to friendships or relationships.

“Me too! No one told me just how important it would be to be able to make your own food once you got older. I blame society!” Ron said, proud of having found another person who was as shite as him when it came to the culinary arts. 

“I’m more surprised you didn’t figure that out yourself” Hermione huffed mockingly. 

They continued talking late into the afternoon before it was time to leave.

“The bakery is going to be pretty busy until New Year, so I won’t have that much free time” Harry said in an apologetic tone to Draco as they were all busy layering themselves in dozen of clothing’s that would make it a tiny bit more bearable going out in the cold weather.

Draco noticed the look in his eyes and felt heat slowly rise to his cheeks at the feeling of having become so important to the man in front of him that he would look this down from not being able to properly meet for a week or so.

“That’s… okay” Draco mumbled through the scarf that Harry had ordered him to wear, lecturing him on his clothing choices for the cold weather.

“Hey! Don’t get all sad on me now, you two!” Amelia said patting them both on the back before throwing on her big, compact jacket. 

Draco readjusted his scarf in order to hide the slight pink that was now dancing on his cheeks.

“Hermione and Ron have agreed to host the New Year Eve party at their flat, so you’ll have something to look forward to through this stressful week”. Draco almost didn’t catch the quick twitch in Amelia’s lip, showing a small smirk before it was promptly replaced by a big smile.

“That’s true…” Harry sent a small smile towards Draco before they all said their goodbyes. 

The walk home was peaceful for Draco. It was already dark, but the path was lit up by the white snow and the beautiful old streetlights shining a warm yellow light down at him. 

It had been so long since he had spent this much time with someone outside of his family. For once, his Christmas hadn’t been celebrated in a dimly lit living room in his villa with no one there to even wish a happy Christmas. 

The next week went by slowly. Too slowly, in Draco’s mind. It was hard to keep his focus and to be honest he had been thinking too much about spending time with his friends. It had been particularly boring to not be able to spend any time with Harry, since he was busy with the bakery and Draco himself was working non-stop through the week.

Draco had also spent the few moments by himself coming to terms with certain feelings. He had already given up on the idea that the dreams he had of him and Harry being a little too intimate with each other, would go away. 

Instead it had increased… Draco huffed as he sat in his office looking out at the white snow falling slowly to the ground.

It was a beautiful place to live, he couldn’t deny that. Yet, he already knew that the biggest reason as to why he wouldn’t want to leave this place, wasn’t the endless beautiful scenery surrounding every part of the place.

No… His reason was much less innocent than that. 

“But I’m not gay…” Draco mumbled mindlessly to himself. 

“I probably am gay… aren’t I?” He sighed, knowing the walls wouldn’t give him much of an answer.

Yes, Harry was handsome… That was something Draco had noted on their very first meeting. Yet, knowing that the handsome guy was also an excellent cook, could bake close to anything and was kind-hearted to anyone around him, made it even more difficult to brush it off as just finding a person attractive visually. 

No, Harry was also a good person, he seemed gentle, listened earnestly to everything anyone told him, and would easily offer up help whenever someone needed it. 

‘So he was perfect? Is that what you think?’, Draco thought to himself with a scoff. 

‘If he’s this perfect then he should already have a girlfriend… Or a boyfriend for that matter…’ Draco couldn’t remember them ever discussing relationships and the others hadn’t said anything indicating that Harry was involved with someone either. It seemed rather unusual that if he did in fact have a partner, the person didn’t show up for the Christmas party.

‘Then… do I… want him?’ Draco could faintly see his reflection in the glass window as it had become dark outside. 

“I want Harry as my boyfriend” Draco said loudly to himself, as he knew he was the only one left in the building at this point.

Saying it out loud didn’t sound as bad as he had imagined. He liked Harry a lot, more so than anyone else in his life. Draco hadn’t had many real friends around him, but he knew he was feeling differently towards Harry than he did to his friends. 

Sure, he had a few crushes back in the day, but the feeling wasn’t the same either. He didn’t just feel attracted to the way a person looked, no, with Harry he felt attracted to his behaviour, the way he smiled and laughed. He liked how caring he was and how serious he looked when he was baking and creating new pastries. 

Draco liked everything he had seen from Harry so far. Every time he saw a new side of him, he liked that as well. 

“So I’m actually in love… with a guy…” Draco mumbled thoughtfully. 

Draco sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Knowing his feelings like this, but not being able to express them was difficult. Just the thought of actually saying anything to Harry was terrifying though. 

‘I’ll have time to think about it before the New Year Eve party’ Draco sighed to himself before getting through the last paperwork he had left for the day.

Draco stood outside the door of the Granger-Weasley family. 

He took a deep breath, knowing he hadn’t spent the last couple of days throughout thinking about what all these rising feelings were. 

He took a step forward and knocked. 

“Welcome! Just make yourself at home” Hermione said as she opened the door with a big smile.

Draco gave her a smile back and a nod before following her inside the flat.

It was filled with a mix of Christmas decorations and New Year Eve decorations. The flat had a certain feel of warmth similar to the feel Hermione and Ron usually emitted whenever they were around. 

Draco could feel the differences compared to his own villa the same way as he had when he first visited Harry’s house.

“Hey! Long-time no see! How have you been?” Amelia said, sliding up beside him with Sebastian at her side. 

“Hey guys. I’ve been well, quite a lot of work I had to get done, so I’m glad to finally relax” Draco said with a small smile. 

Although he was fairly certain Harry had told Amelia about Draco’s work, he had never felt like Amelia, or Harry for that reason, had been overly interested in his work or changed because of the title he held. 

It was a nice feeling, Draco thought to himself.

“Tell me about it! The bakery was packed almost every day. Seems like everyone decided to stop by before New Year” Amelia sighed, looking a bit worn out.

“I can imagine… I didn’t have time to stop by during the week, but as I passed by it did look awfully cramped with all the people”

“Yeah, it was quite a spectacle. I even had to step in and help here and there” Sebastian said, not looking overly bothered by the fact that he could spend more time with the person he loved.

They continued on chatting for a while, which Draco found calming, as the place had been packed with a lot of people he didn’t know. 

He was introduced to a few people, a girl named Luna who was wearing some wicked glasses, Ron’s sister Ginny and a few others that Draco had a hard time remembering the names of. 

After a while Draco spotted a familiar figure moving slowly close to the table.

“I hope you’re going to share that tower with someone” 

Harry had a sheepish smile on his face as he looked down on the big load of food on his plate. “I’m famished, all right? I didn’t have time to eat before leaving the bakery, and I’ve barely eaten at   
all today”.

“The saying, I could eat a horse, isn’t that far off it would seem” Draco got a quick jab at his side for his comment before Harry chuckled.

“Why were you at the bakery today? I thought it wouldn’t be open on New Year” 

“Well… one of our family friends were hosting a big dinner party, but half of the desserts had somehow ended up splattered over the parking lot, so they gave me a call pleading for help” Harry started going towards one of the big windows looking out at the small city, that had fewer people standing around.

“I couldn’t exactly say no, so I just threw together what I could find” Harry said as he turned to see Draco had already got his hands on two glasses of champagne. 

“You’re quite the saviour, huh?” Draco said as he handed Harry one of the glasses. 

“Well, I do try my best” Harry said with a grin as he accepted the glass. 

“You’re really nice, huh…” Draco mumbled a bit to himself more than to Harry.

“Huh? What did you-” Harry was cut short by the sudden chanting that had started.

“FIVE, FOUR, THREE” 

Everyone had gathered out on the balcony looking at the sky with big hopeful eyes. The park below had been set up with various fireworks and was waiting for the last seconds to pass by, signalling the start of a new year filled with possibilities.

Harry and Draco both turned to look out the window they were standing by. 

“TWO, ONE!” 

The sky lit up instantly. It was difficult to say whether the cheers of the people or the sounds of the fireworks was the loudest, but the colours painting the night sky was the only thing that Draco could focus on.

New beginnings…

Draco glanced over at Potter who were enjoying the view with a smile on his face and various colours caressing his features, making him look even more stunning than he already was.

A time to face your fears and try new things. A time to finally allow yourself to be honest with what you’re feeling, Draco thought to himself. 

“Hey…” Draco gripped the end of his shirt in a hopeless attempt at some comfort for the nervousness that was consuming him. 

“Hm?” Harry turned at the sound of Draco’s voice. 

“I like you…” Draco all but whispered, his eyes barely attempting to meet Harry’s. 

“What did you say? I couldn’t hear you; the sounds are too loud!” Harry said in a raised voice, trying to get through the loudness.

Draco finally looked Harry in the eyes. He wasn’t entirely sure where this sudden confident came from, but he felt like he had to act before it disappeared again. 

With a swift move, Draco closed the gap between them and gave Harry a kiss. It was incredible, making it feel like it lasted for much longer than it actually did. 

The kiss was innocent enough, but it had still made something explicitly clear to Draco. 

He loved Harry. He could feel how his emotions was taking over, only confirming his suspicions. 

“W-what?” As Harry had stepped back, Draco didn’t at first notice the alarm’s that was going off on Harry’s reaction. He was instead too amazed at having had the courage to do something he had wanted to do for quite some time now.

“I… like you” Draco said once more, raising his voice only a little to make it audible to Harry.

“I…I don’t understand… I mean…” Harry was stuttering and looked completely lost there he stood. 

“I like you in this kind of way” Draco said once more, feeling himself blush at having to state it so many times.

“I… I’m sorry… I don’t… I… not like…that” Draco’s eyes widen at the words coming out of Harry’s mouth. 

The words were broken up in pieces and he was stuttering, but Draco got the gist of it. 

“I’m… I’m sorry….” Draco managed to stutter out before turning around and quickly making his way for the door. 

Draco felt mortified at his realisation. What had he done? Harry didn’t like him… And he had gone ahead and kissed him.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Amelia said as she bumped into Draco who was starting to feel sick.

“I’m sorry… I don’t feel well, so I’m going home” Draco said, not daring to meet her eyes.

“Oh… Is it bad? I’m sure Hermione has some medicine laying around if you-“ Draco cut her off before she could finish her sentence. “It’s fine, I just need some sleep and quiet” Draco said. He was sure Amelia had noticed his strained expression and that something else was up with him, but she did not press the matter. 

“Be safe” She said, squeezing his arm before letting go. 

With a quick goodbye he headed for the door.

He was a coward… He had always been one. Unable to ever express what he truly felt and fearing rejection more than anything. Yet he had chosen to do something so drastic and stupid. He had probably deserved the surprised look on Harry’s face, and the stuttering of words that left his mouth after. 

I’m an idiot, Draco could feel tears pressing at his eyes, threatening to unleash upon him. 

No… Crying wouldn’t help, it never did. He should just bury it deep down and figure out a way to make things less awkward than what he anticipated the next time he met Harry.

But as he had reached his home and quietly closed the door behind him, being engulfed in silence, he hadn’t been able to keep it together anymore.

He had ruined it… Everything… The friendship he had built with Harry over the last couple of months, the friends he had got through Harry and the moments of shared happiness was all gone. Just because of him, not being able to keep his feelings out it all. 

He always ruined everything, having close friends or even hoping to find love was useless for a guy like him who couldn’t even read the atmosphere at such a crucial moment. 

He probably deserved spending the hours into a new year all alone in his room. 

It wasn’t anything new after all.


	8. Harry's thoughts

HARRY’S POV

Harry sighed as he cleaned the counter mindlessly. It had been a few weeks, and he hadn’t had the chance to talk to Draco at all.

Harry knew why though. The guy had all but meticulously avoided him since the New Year Party.

Harry couldn’t blame him though. What had happened at the party had been a complete catastrophe. 

Harry thought back on what had happened. He had been taken completely off guard when Draco had leaned in and kissed him. 

Sure, he did feel like they had become close throughout the last couple of months, but Harry hadn’t even considered anything turning into love, what with both of them being guys.

“I saw Draco on my way here” Harry turned at Amelia’s voice echoing through the empty bakery.

“Uh huh…” Harry had already told Amelia about what had happened after she had confronted him at the party. 

She had been overly concerned about why Draco had left in such a hurry and what horrible thing Harry must’ve done to him in order for him to leave with such a gloomy expression. 

“He looked rather pale…” Amelia said as she slid up next to Harry. “I told him you just needed time to properly think things through, you know”. She continued, obviously siding the blonde rather than her brother on the matter. 

“I have thought it through” Harry said as he moved towards the empty tables, making sure they looked spot free. “It just… I’m not…” Harry sighed.

“What? You’re not into him? Or are you just saying it’s impossible because you’re not gay?” 

“I don’t know… I guess…” 

Amelia sighed before running a hand through her hair “Okay… Think about it like this... How does it feel when he’s not around? Is it the same as usual?”

“No… I mean, I enjoyed his company. He was a great friend, really! I just…”

“Yeah… You’re not gay, I heard you” Amelia sighed. She was already pretty frustrated over the situation, as she knew her brother was too stressed about the whole ‘gay’ part instead of strictly contemplating his feelings. 

“It’s been two weeks since you’ve seen him, right? So how is it? Are you fine with the way things are now?” Amelia knew he wasn’t. But she had to push him a bit to make him start to realise just what he felt for the blonde guy.

“No, not at all… It’s not… good… I do miss hanging out with him and having him taste all the new pastries was always something I looked forward to, but still…”. Amelia could see the frustration in her brother’s eyes. He had barely made any new recipes since the party and wasn’t putting more effort into his work than strictly necessary. This worried her, because Harry’s whole world revolved around baking. 

“Then let’s switch it up a bit” Amelia said with a small glint in her eyes “What do you think of his looks? Do you find him attractive? Even just from a male perspective” Amelia tried to sound as innocent as possible, in order to not make her brother realise where she was going with her questioning. 

The moment Harry and Draco had become closer, she had seen him take much more interest in Draco than anything else other than baking. Amelia had seen Harry’s previous relationships, and to be honest, she couldn’t blame Draco for thinking Harry might feel the same way as he did. Harry had never invested this much into a person before and trusting Draco’s decisions on new pastries were something he never let anyone do.

Amelia was sure that if Harry had been in a relationship at this time, the girl would’ve been filled with jealousy over the way Draco was treated. 

“Well, it’s a bit weird to say I guess, but sure… I think he’s an attractive man. He’s not the manliest guy though, so I guess he’s more beautiful than handsome really…” Amelia knew that Harry wasn’t aware of how his answer sounded to her, and it frustrated her even more. 

“Then how about you take some more time to properly think about it?” Amelia said, just as the bell rang and a customer entered the bakery, ending the conversation. 

\-----

Harry had spent most of the day going through the conversation he had with his sister earlier. Sure, he thought he had already properly thought it through, but maybe he needed to think about it a bit more.

Not having Draco around was… quite frankly… miserable. He had become far too used to the fact that Draco would show up at the bakery, smiling once he got eyes on Harry, or whenever he had come to visit his place and they had been talking and laughing about everything and nothing.

Truth be told, Harry had never had such a friendship with any of his male friends before. Even Ron who was his closest friend. Sure, he could talk to Hermione about more sensitive and emotional stuff, but Draco was just… different. 

It had taken Harry a bit by surprise when he realised just how bleak the days felt once Draco stopped showing up. 

They had spent so much time together, and Draco had spent more than a few times sleeping over at his place. Harry had never really thought about it before, but he now realised that it felt like Draco didn’t really have anyone else around him that he was close to.

He had heard snippets here and there relating to Draco’s family, but what he had gathered from it was that his parent’s rarely spent time with him, instead they were living in a different country. 

Harry could feel a heavy lump in his stomach start to form at the realisation. Draco had been completely reliant on him for quite some time now and had changed from a constant expression of stress and tiredness into a more cheerful one.  
Was it all because of…him? Harry wondered.

\-----

“This is the only good drink that they sell here… For real guys!” Ron sighed as he put down a rather pinkish drink in front of him. 

“We’re not judging” Amelia shrugged, knowing full well that Ron was right. She and Hermione had even made it a thing to try out every drink at the bar in order to find anything that could come close to a decent taste. The pink one was the only contender. 

“Say… Why isn’t Draco here? I thought you two were joined at the hip” Hermione said.

“Er…Well…” Harry was still unsure what to do or say at this point. Only Amelia knew of what had happened at the party and with the busy life of everyone, it had been rather easy to play it off as ‘he’s been working’ or ‘he had some other matter to attend to’, which had been fine so far.

“He didn’t have time today, sadly” Amelia chimed in before Harry could finish his stuttering.

“He sure has been busy lately!” Ron said mindlessly as he took a sip and corrected Sebastian’s claim on which pop artist was the current number one.

“Must’ve been hard on you…” Hermione mumbled. “What?” Harry looked at her with curious eyes. Was she aware of everything that had happened? Harry thought to himself.

“I mean… I didn’t want to put you on the spot or anything, but it’s just pretty clear, is all…”

“What is?” Harry was now certain Hermione knew about Draco avoiding Harry.

“Well, you’re together, right?” Hermione all but whispered between them, as she looked over at Ron, Sebastian and Amelia being in a heated discussion about something related to pop artist, Harry managed to put together by the uproar between his friends.

“I…We’re not! That’s not!” Once again, Harry found himself at a loss for words when it came to his relationship with Draco.

“Oh…Wait…You’re not? I was certain! I mean, you’ve never even treated your girlfriends the way you treat him! I thought you had finally found the one” Hermione looked shocked as she had now turned her full attention to Harry instead.

“Why is that something everyone thinks?” Harry said with a look of exasperation. 

“Who else thought it was like that?” Hermione asked, before answering her own question “It was Amelia, wasn’t it?” She nodded in agreement with herself. 

“Yes... She told me think it through properly, and that I shouldn’t just disregard it because of him being a guy and all that” Harry was desperate to hear what Hermione had to say. She was usually much better than him when it came to understanding the big picture and thinking calmly. 

“I think she’s right…” Hermione said thoughtfully. 

“Why let gender be the thing to stop you from the possibility of true love?” 

“It’s just… I’ve never even considered the idea before, and now I’m suddenly unable to think about anything else than that” Harry sighed. “I don’t want to lose him, that I know for certain, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do any of the physical stuff, you know…” Harry felt a bit awkward at discussing such a topic with his friend, but he knew he needed some advice on all of this, and Hermione was always the best one to consult.

“Do you like him?” Hermione said in a serious voice. 

“Yes” 

“Is there even a slight possibility you would give him a chance?” 

“…Yes” Harry felt a bit surprised at how determined his answer sounded as he spoke. 

“Then don’t think too much about it. Just tell him truthfully that you like him, but you’re not sure if you’ll be able to like him the same way he likes you”. 

“Maybe you’ll be able to stick to being friends” She said, which made Harry scoff a bit.

“He’s already avoiding me; I don’t think he’ll be agreeing to such a proposition anytime soon” Harry could feel a tightening in his chest at the thought of them not being friends anymore. It wasn’t something he wanted to happen at all.

“Then if you’re able to give it a chance, why not? Don’t give him any big expectations and just make a go for it. You already seem to know that he won’t stay as friends, so if you want to keep him around, then this might be your only option”. 

Harry knew that Hermione was right. He wouldn’t be able to keep the friendship if he didn’t agree to a relationship. He just wasn’t sure he would be able to love Draco and hurting him because of his own selfishness of not wanting to let him go was a gloomy thought. 

“Fine… I’ll give it a try. Don’t tell anyone about this conversation though… Not yet…” Hermione nodded and made a show of sealing her lips.

“Cheers!” She said as she held her glass up to Harry “for the adventures ahead” She cracked a reassuring smile before ending the on-going conversation between the other three friends by telling them they were all wrong, and the only pop artist that meant anything was obviously… 

Harry zoned out as his thoughts were filled with a certain blonde.


	9. Decisions, childhood friends and dates

Back to Draco’s POV

“You work pretty late these days…” 

Draco jumped a bit as he heard the familiar voice. 

“It’s… busy…” He said, not meeting the eyes of the man leaning against the wall of the Malfoy company. 

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while now” Although it was difficult to decipher what Harry was thinking from his voice alone, Draco didn’t want to stick around to hear what he was fairly certain would be an apology for not being able to accept his feelings.

“I’m tired now, maybe another day” Draco said and tried to hurriedly make his way towards the parking lot. He had started driving his car back and forth these days, trying to avoid any interaction with the man he was, unfortunately, currently interacting with.

Before Draco could make another step, he felt a hand on his arm “Wait! I really need to talk to you” Harry said.

“It’s fine. I’m sorry for having bothered you with something unnecessary… I just need a bit more time and I’ll get over it all and we can pretend it never happened” Draco said, still avoiding any eye contact. He could feel his chest tightening, making it difficult to breathe.

“We both know that’s not going to happen” Harry said, as he tugged on Draco’s arm, making him turn to face him. 

“I want to give it a try” 

“Huh?” Draco couldn’t help but meet Harry’s eyes at that point. He needed to know if the guy was being honest or had suddenly become a lunatic.

“You… It’s not… You don’t have to do that just to save a friendship... I wouldn’t want that” Draco said, stumbling over his words at the unexpected conversation.

“Okay, I’ll be honest with you. I’m partly doing it to save our friendship, but it’s not JUST that!” Harry said, still holding on to Draco, making it impossible to run away from what was going on.

“I can’t promise you I’ll feel the same as you do, but I like you… I like you a lot. I don’t want to end it just like this without even having tried. I was just too surprised at the party, and I never considered myself being able to love a guy, but who knows. I might actually realise what I really feel if I give it a shot”. 

“This is a shitty idea…” Draco mumbled.

“I know… But please… At least give me a chance” Draco could see the pleading in Harry’s eyes, and although he knew this was only bound to hurt him in the end, he couldn’t disagree. Perhaps, if nothing else, it could help them back to a normal friendship if Harry realises, he can’t love him. 

Draco knew it would end up with him getting hurt either way, but he had been miserable. Not being able to see Harry and talk to him had really been hard on him. He had become used to them hanging out together almost all the time, and it had made his days full of joy and excitement, compared to how it had been before he met Harry. 

Even if it was only a tiny chance of Harry liking him back, he couldn’t let it slip by him without even trying.

“Fine… But if you still feel nothing after a couple of months, you need to let me know. I don’t want you to force yourself into something you don’t want”

Harry grinned, and Draco couldn’t help but smile a bit. He had missed Harry a lot, so it was nice being together like this again. 

\------

Draco took a deep breath before he opened the door to the bakery. The faint jingle of the doorbell and the sweet scent of newly baked pastries filled the air. He had to admit that he had missed this feeling more than he liked to accept.

“Hi!” Draco looked over at the counter and saw Amelia standing there.

The bakery was fairly quiet at the moment, and Draco could make out the few of the regulars faces around the tables. 

“Hello…” Draco walked over, feeling a bit awkward for not having talked to Amelia since she told him to let Harry consider his offer a bit more.

The surprise Draco had felt when he had realised that Amelia knew about his feelings for her brother was stunning. He didn’t think anyone would’ve noticed when he himself had spent such a long time even figuring it out on his own. 

“It’s been a while! How’s everything going? Must be a lot of work now with the start of the new year and everything” Amelia seemed as cheerful as ever, making it a bit easier for Draco. He was fully aware of the fact that Amelia was trying her best to make him feel less uncomfortable. 

“Yeah, it’s been pretty busy so far…”

“Are you looking for Harry?” Amelia asked, as she had noticed Draco’s attention being drawn towards the rest of the bakery.

“Oh… well, it’s not important. I just thought of buying some pastries on my way home” Draco felt a bit of heat rise to his cheeks as he thought he had been subtle.

“No problem! Although, Harry is better at knowing what you like. I’ll get him for you!” Amelia said and was gone before Draco could muster up any sort of protest.

Harry was promptly dragged out from the back of the bakery and had a mix of surprise and cheerfulness on his face as he saw who was standing in front of him.

“Hi there!” Harry smiled brightly. 

“Hi…” Draco couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy. Him and Harry had only just agreed on trying for a relationship the day before, and not having seen Harry for a few weeks were only adding to the awkwardness Draco was feeling.

“Amelia told me you wanted to buy some pastries on the go” Harry said as he started skimming through the pastries on display.

“Yeah, I… I have a friend over from my hometown, so I wanted to get something for her as well” 

“This one is definitely a great option. Is your friend more into sweet stuff or salty? Any particular things they like?” Harry was keeping his eyes on Draco with more confident than Draco had felt at the New Year Eve party.

“Umm… I think she likes sweet stuff the most. She also likes anything with berries in them” Draco said trying not to meet Harry’s eyes for more than necessary. It was making him a bit restless when he was being watched so intently. 

“Oh! Then I’m sure she’ll like these” Harry pointed to one of the very delicious pastries in front of him “It’s a puff pastry blueberry version”.

Draco nodded in agreement. It did look really good, and he noticed that he hadn’t seen it before in the bakery when he used to visit. It must be a new addition, he thought to himself.

Harry continued on chatting as he carefully put a few variations of pastries into a small white box with a baby blue ribbon. It looked charming Draco noted.

“Oh, I also have some of this I would like you to try out, so do share it with your friend and tell me what you both think” Harry said as he put together one more box with some round type of pastry coated in sugar “It’s Berliners filled with a variation of jam and Nutella” Harry explained.

“It looks good” Draco said almost unconsciously. The pastries were definitely nice looking and it was almost a shame to eat something that looked this pretty, he thought.

Draco payed for the pastries and with a quick glance at Harry he said his goodbyes. 

“Wait!” Harry said before Draco could turn to leave.

“Do you have some free time tomorrow?” Draco had left early from work since it was Saturday and Pansy had been on a bit of a schedule, telling him she needed to leave with the night train that same day. 

Seeing as it was Sunday tomorrow, Draco did have the whole day off.

“Yeah, I’m off tomorrow” 

“Great! I was wondering if you’d like to hang at my place and watch a movie? I’ve had this one I’ve wanted to see for a while now” 

“Sure!” Draco said, knowing how much he had missed staying at Harry’s place. 

“Then it’s a date! See you tomorrow” Harry smiled, and Draco could only look flustered as Amelia was now standing within hearing distance and was giving him some weird wiggles with her eyebrows. Perhaps it was a way of cheering him on? Draco didn’t know.

\-----

“I’m telling you! This is just crazy… I don’t know if I’ll be able to live through this whole tense atmosphere” Draco sighed, as he watched his childhood friend devour yet another one of the blueberry pastries.

“Well…It’s not like you’re gonna find anyone else in this tiny place, anyway, so why not be a bit crazy?” Pansy said between bites, with a shrug. 

“But I don’t know if it’ll just end up with us staying as friends and nothing will happen. I’ll just be the one with a mental breakdown every few seconds” Draco muttered, sipping his tea.

“Look, you obviously like the guy. Hell, I haven’t ever seen you this worked up about anyone before. I mean, I was a bit surprised at the fact that you were gay and all, but it makes sense considering you’ve never had much interest in girls before” Pansy said, not being the type to hold back what she thought. 

“Eh? I…What? It’s not like I’ve never had any interest, it’s just that no one made me feel any kind of love”

“Exactly! Count your blessings that you’ve actually found someone you can honestly say you like” 

“But if it ends up with him figuring out that he doesn’t want to date me, I’m gonna be miserable. It was hell trying to get through two weeks of not seeing him. And I’m honestly too aware of him to be able to have the same friendship we had before. I didn’t want to pressure him into anything, so I tried staying away for a while, but then he had just come to a decision on his own” Draco sighed. 

“Well, seems like to me… You’re gonna be miserable either way, so why not bet on the small chance that he’d actually fall for you?” Pansy was already eyeing another pastry as she talked. She knew Draco in and out, and she had been a bit surprised seeing him fret this much over a guy she didn’t know. 

The more she had listened to him, the more she had realised just how much he liked the guy. 

“You’re a pretty guy, I’m sure he won’t turn you down” Pansy said, knowing full well she had no idea whether or not that was true. But the thought of Draco passing up a chance at love was not an option. 

“And if it all fails you can just move to Italy with me. There’s lots of handsome guys over there” She said as she found a particularly tasty looking Berliner pastry.

“Heh…” Draco chuckled at the offer “I’m not really into guys though… or at least I don’t think so. I just like Harry, that’s all” He finished.

“Then you gotta put in the effort” Pansy said with a determined voice.

They continued chatting and turning the conversation to other topics, mainly the success of Pansy’s fashion store and what their other childhood friends had been up to. 

“I’ll have to leave now to reach the train, thanks for driving me” Pansy said as she opened the door of Draco’s car.

“Of course, have a safe trip” Draco said hugging his best friend. 

“Best of luck, honey” Pansy said with a small smile as she closed the door and waved goodbye.

\------

“Come in” Harry said as he opened the door to Draco.

“Sorry, it’s a bit messy. I got caught up in some new recipes just now, so I’ve been thinking out how to do them” Harry said, as Draco noticed the dining table being filled with papers spread out across it.

“I don’t mind” Draco said as he sat down in the sofa. It was nice to be back here once again. The fire was lit, and it was as cosy as it had always been.

They watched the movie. It was a romantic comedy and it was fairly well made, Draco thought to himself. 

It had been easy when it was just sitting there watching a movie and drinking tea, but once the movie was over, Draco felt himself become a bit more rigid. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. How he should act.

“So… What did you guys think?” Harry asked with hopeful eyes.

“Huh?” 

“The pastries” Harry said as he filled their teacups.

“Oh! Yeah, I was lucky to even get a taste of them. My friend loved them. She told me to send her some boxes once in a while” Draco said, making Harry chuckle. 

“That’s good! I’m glad it was approved” Harry smiled brightly, making Draco look down.

Harry sat back down besides Draco and started chatting away about what had happened during the two weeks they hadn’t met. It mostly revolved around work and the many people that was ordering from the bakery from various different towns.

Draco tried following the conversation, but it was difficult to focus when Harry had decided to sit much closer to him than normal. 

After having excused himself to use the bathroom, Draco made a note of regaining the usual distance they had before when sitting together. 

It had made Harry change his expression for a split second, before continuing the talk. 

The time flew by, and after a while Draco found it was time to head back. 

“Do you have your car?” Harry asked, as he stood watching Draco put on his jacket.

“Yeah, it’s still pretty cold outside, so it’s easier to use it” Draco said, putting his scarf on.

“That’s true. Be careful on your way back, it’s still icy outside” Harry said before embraing Draco in a warm hug. 

It came as a bit of a shock to Draco. They hadn’t really hugged before when they were friends, and now with the whole situation they had going on, called try-dating, it had an even bigger impact on Draco.

“I- I will” Draco said with a flustered look, quickly getting out the door.

“Haaah…” Draco sighed as he started driving. He had thought the relationship between them hadn’t changed at all, but when he thought about it some more, he realised that Harry was being a bit closer to him in general and was also doing things like hugging him and telling him to be safe.

It was a nice feeling, no doubt, but it also somehow made Draco nervous. He was afraid Harry was pushing himself too much. He hated the thought of making Harry uncomfortable because of having to consider his feelings. 

Although Draco had planned to spend some time to get rid of the feelings he was harbouring for the black-haired guy, he hadn’t been given much of a choice from Harry who wanted to give it a try. 

Draco sighed again; he knew it would probably be too difficult to stay as friends now that he knew about his own feelings. This might be the only way to at least have a chance at staying by Harry’s side. 

\------

The next couple of weeks, Harry had made it a point to ask Draco out several times, going on various trips around the town. It was both fun and helped Draco in getting to know all the interesting shops that were a bit hidden to the public eye. 

It was fun to get to see the town properly and having Harry talk about the various places and their history. The guy did know a surprising lot about quite a few places in the town. 

They had spent a few times already at a small waffle house that was situated at the outskirt of the town. 

Harry had told him that they were pretty famous for the waffles there, and that it was a must to try it out at least once. 

It was interesting for Draco to watch how Harry interacted with people. He seemed to know most of the people in town, and especially the ones who were also dabbling in the same business as him. 

“Here, you’ve got to try this” Harry said, as he pointed his fork towards Draco. 

It took a second for Draco to know what to do. Did he want him to just eat directly from his fork while he was holding it? Or should he take the fork and then eat it?

There had been quite a few times now where Draco had been put in a position of being flustered and unsure of what he should do. He had tried his best at keeping a normal distance between them and not putting too much pressure on Harry.

“Okay…” Draco was about to take the fork from Harry, when Harry held his hand and put it on the table.

Draco could feel himself start to blush. Harry wasn’t letting go of his hand and had now moved the fork right to Draco’s mouth. 

With a hesitant look at the food in front of him, Draco leaned a bit forward and ate it. 

“It’s good” Draco said, feeling his cheeks warm up even more as Harry had been intently watching him. He had noticed how as of late, Harry had been staring at him a lot more than usual.

“Right?” Harry said and grinned.

Draco was sat for a moment not knowing what to do, as Harry had still not released his hand even as he continued eating the strawberry glazed waffle.

“Um…” Draco said as he shifted slightly. “I… My hand…” 

“Oh, sorry!” Harry said without looking particularly surprised at how long he had been holding on to Draco’s hand. He gave it a small squeeze before retreating his hand. 

As Draco continued eating his own waffle, Harry resumed to talking as if the event hadn’t bothered him much.

Draco, on the other hand, was shaking ever so slightly.

The last weeks had made Draco’s world spin more than once. Harry was being strangely intimate at times, and Draco was too flustered to react with any sort of grace. He couldn’t remember ever having turned red so many times before because of one person. 

He was also having a difficult time wording himself whenever Harry would touch him or look him straight in the eyes without looking away.

It had kinda made Draco feel like Harry was finding his reactions funny… or maybe hilarious. He couldn’t know whether it was just fun to tease him because Harry knew about his feelings, or if Harry was actually properly trying to test out a relationship.

No… Draco thought to himself, Harry was a good person in general, he wouldn’t have it in him to be cruel or make fun of someone else’s feelings.


	10. Kiss of chocolate

HARRY’S POV

Lately whenever he and Draco had been going out together, Draco had spent most of his energy on trying to keep them at a friendly distance. 

It had become a bit frustrating for Harry, as he was sure they were trying to figure out whether a relationship could work between them. The only way to know would be to get closer, right? So why was Draco trying so hard to avoid that?

Harry had come to the conclusion that Draco might’ve realised that he didn’t particularly like Harry as much as he thought. Perhaps the dates had been bad enough for him to realise something   
like that.

That was when Harry decided to try and close the distance more on his own. He would do things he deemed natural between couples and he quickly realised something.

Draco might not be saying much, but his reactions was far easier to read. 

He would reach out to put a strand of blonde hair behind the guy’s ear, and before he could retract his hand, he felt a quick shiver from Draco. 

Harry started paying more attention to Draco’s expressions and just by doing small gestures like holding his hand or feeding him, Draco’s cheeks would turn a dark red, and he would be looking everywhere other than at Harry himself.

At first Harry found it a bit amusing. It was interesting to see how much Draco reacted to him, and slowly he started to feel a sense of satisfaction from it. 

It only made Harry want to do it more. Try getting even closer the blonde guy. He wanted to make him…

Harry stopped kneading the dough he was currently working on. What exactly was he about to say?

He knew that he liked Draco a lot. He was a fun person to be with, he could talk to him about anything and he had never felt so comfortable with having anyone in his house as he did with Draco.

But did he love him? He didn’t want to go ahead and say something without fully meaning it.

It wasn’t something to take lightly. Hurting Draco wasn’t something he wanted. 

‘Do I want him?’ Harry thought and tried to picture himself with Draco. Harry sighed. He knew that he liked the guy, but he wasn’t sure if he liked him in such a way that he could do the physical stuff that follows with a relationship. 

As of late, he hadn’t had much time to contemplate things, as Valentine’s day had been getting closer and closer.   
The day had been extremely hectic. It seemed like everyone wanted to buy some chocolate in the nick of time. Although there had been quite a few customers throughout the week, there were still a bunch of people who came in on Valentine’s day. 

Just then he could hear the jingle of the doorbell as someone entered the bakery. It was already about closing time and the last of the valentine’s chocolates were already bought.

“I’m in the back, just a minute!” Harry said, as he put the dough to rise.

“Hi…” He heard the familiar voice behind him, which as of late, had been strangely unnatural as Draco was being far more timid around him. 

It was weird, but it also made Harry feel a surge of something in his stomach. The quiet voice that always seemed to hold a hint of nervousness in it, had started sounding cuter by the day. 

Harry turned to see Draco fidgeting. It made him look much younger than he was. He knew Draco was 26, while he himself was 24. Somehow Harry felt like he was older than the guy in front of him.

“Do you have some time later?” Draco asked, Harry had become used to Draco not meeting his eyes as frequently as he had been before.

“Yeah, of course!” Harry chimed in, feeling his curiosity take over, as Draco had mostly been on the receiving end of offers to spend time. 

“Anything in particular in mind?” Harry asked.

“Well… Er… It’s valentine’s day, so I just… Maybe if you don’t feel too exhausted, we could make some… together”.

Harry stood there for a moment, looking a bit surprised. He had felt like Draco was trying to keep him at a distance for a while now, and suddenly here he was, on valentine’s day, talking about making chocolate together. 

“Sure! I’m just about done for the day. Give me five minutes and we can head up to my place” Harry said, noticing how Draco visibly relaxed by the answer he was given.

‘It was cute…’ Harry thought to himself. 

\-----

Harry got the fire going before heading to the kitchen. Draco was still fumbling a bit, and Harry noticed that he had probably spent a lot of time mustering up the courage to do this.

“Have you made chocolate cookies before?” Harry asked as he got out two aprons.

“No, I’ve never really… I mean, I’m a bit horrible when it comes to cooking or baking” Draco said sheepishly. 

“That’s fine. I’ll help you” Harry said after putting on his apron.

Harry didn’t know as of when it had become so natural for him to be close to Draco and wanting to touch him.

“Arms up” Harry said as he placed the apron around Draco’s waist. He leaned forward and entwined the strings around his back and then to the front tying it neatly. 

“There you go” Harry said with a grin. He looked up to meet Draco’s eyes, and realised he had probably moved a bit quickly for the blonde. His cheeks were red once again and he looked a bit shocked before he turned his head and muttered a quiet thank you. 

This was bad… Harry thought. He liked making Draco feel flustered. It only made him realise how much Draco actually liked him, and it felt so endearing to Harry.

They started making the chocolate, and Draco was dutifully following all of Harry’s instructions. 

“Here, you have to…” Harry felt himself jump a little at Draco reaction.

He had been cutting the chocolate, and as Harry moved over to his side, he gently put a hand on his lower back as he was about to instruct him. This had made Draco jump and drop the knife. 

“You okay?” Harry asked, taking Draco’s hand in his own to make sure he hadn’t cut himself.

“Y-yeah… Sorry, I was just…” Draco looked even more flustered than Harry had seen him before, and all just because Harry had touched him a bit more intimately? 

‘Oh god…’ Harry thought to himself. He was starting to find the blonde guy more and more irresistible. 

He wanted to know more about Draco’s expressions. Just how red would he get if he… Harry didn’t manage to stop himself from the temptation.

He leaned in and kissed Draco. 

It was strange how different it had felt this time around. He wasn’t shocked like he had been the first time, and he got to properly feel the kiss.

Draco’s lips were soft and inviting. Harry put a hand up and cupped Draco’s cheek in it. 

Draco wasn’t pulling away, so Harry figured it would be fine to taste a bit more.

He slipped his tongue out and licked Draco’s lower lip. He could feel Draco tense up at the action and was about to tear himself from the kiss, when he felt Draco opening his mouth ever so slightly. 

He was inviting him in, Harry thought. 

With his other hand he grabbed Draco’s hair and pressed them both closer together as he slipped his tongue in.

It was warm and slippery. Harry could feel the taste of chocolate from when Draco had secretly taken a piece as Harry was explaining the recipe.

At first, Draco was allowing Harry full control. Harry roamed his mouth trying to reach every nook and cranny he could get to. 

After a while, Harry felt Draco move his tongue, starting to press against his. He was trying to gain some control of the situation, but Harry wouldn’t let him. He was far to eager. He removed his hand from Draco’s cheek and placed it at his hip, pulling him even closer.

Draco was holding on with both hands on Harry’s shirt, like he was holding on for dear life. 

Harry could feel Draco shiver under his touch. It made him want even more. He continued passionately kissing him for a while longer, until he finally managed to break the kiss.

Both of them were panting heavily, and when Harry looked down at Draco’s lips, he could see that they had turned a deep red and was a bit swollen. 

It looked hot; Harry noted. 

He was only inches from Draco’s face, not willing to let go of the closeness just yet.

“I love you” He whispered in Draco’s ear. He could hear the small gasp and shiver running through Draco’s body at the words, and he smiled a bit to himself. 

After a moment of silence Harry heard a small voice saying, “I’m sorry…”. Harry cupped Draco’s face and looked at him. He could see tears pressing at the verge of Draco’s eyes.

“Why?” Harry asked, unsure why the mood had turned to this. 

“I… I didn’t want to force you…” Draco said trying to keep back his tears. 

“You didn’t though. I’ve come to the conclusion myself; you know. I was pretty confused at first, but I didn’t dislike you, so I gave it a chance to see how I truly felt. And now I know” Harry smiled, as Draco buried his head in his chest, sobbing. 

‘Yup… There was no way he didn’t love Draco’.


	11. Desires

After the Valentine’s day, things had changed between Harry and Draco. They had barely managed to get any chocolate cookies done in-between kisses and Harry finding it increasingly hard not to touch Draco.

Draco was still not being overly touchy towards Harry but had started accepting Harry’s advances and seemed generally happier.

The next couple of weeks they had spent all their free time together, being together with their friends or just hanging out at Harry’s flat. 

Everyone had just kinda quietly accepted the closeness that was suddenly evident between Harry and Draco. 

Amelia had sneaked in a small “tell me if Harry does something stupid, and I’ll beat him up” when she and Draco was lagging behind the group one evening. 

Draco was grateful that everyone seemed to not mind their relationship. He was sure Amelia had pressed Harry for intel on their relationship, and it seemed like the whole group was more or less aware of it. 

Instead it looked like everyone was just happy that they were back to being able to hang as a group and not having the tension between the two lovebirds hanging over them. 

\----

Draco jumped in his seat, almost spilling popcorn all over the sofa.

Harry only chuckled as Draco was squeezing his arm to the point where he wasn’t sure whether he had any feeling left in it.

“I thought you said you could handle scary movies” Harry grinned.

“I thought so too. But this is just…” Draco sighed as he was now more or less glued to Harry.

Yet another jump scare made Draco yelp as he tried to hold on to the glass of soda in his hand.

“That was unnecessarily scary” Draco said, sighing. 

Harry laughed “I’m taking it, you’re not going home tonight?” 

“No way! I won’t be able to sleep” Draco felt himself still being on edge from the far too many scares he had been put through.

“Then do you want to sleep in my room?” Harry was a bit hesitant with his question, obviously checking the reaction of Draco.

“If you don’t mind…” Draco felt relieved. He had slept in Harry’s bed before, and he slept better there than anywhere else. 

They got ready for bed, and once they got in, Harry turned off the light.

After what felt like an eternity, Draco couldn’t help tossing and turning. He didn’t want to wake Harry if he was already asleep, but the movie had made him more scared than he thought. It made it difficult to fall asleep.

“You okay?” He heard, as Harry turned towards him.

“Yeah! Sorry! I just…” Draco felt a bit embarrassed for having difficulties sleeping because of a movie.

“Come here” Harry said, embracing Draco. 

“I just can’t calm my mind” Draco said, sighing.

“Should I help you?” Harry said in a voice that made Draco feel like he might be agreeing to something much more than he thought.

“Mhm…” Draco said back, curious. 

Harry slipped his hand underneath Draco’s t-shirt and started tracing patterns on Draco’s chest. 

It made Draco’s breath halt, and he couldn’t help but shiver at the touch.

Harry leaned over kissing Draco a few times, before starting to kiss his neck. 

Draco was having a hard time keeping up with him. He hadn’t ever been touched like this before, and he was afraid he was feeling it too much. He didn’t know what was normal or how he should behave.

“What should I do?” Draco breathed out, wanting to do something to make Harry feel good too.

“Don’t worry, just lie back and enjoy it” Harry whispered in his ear. Draco couldn’t help the small moan that escaped his lips.

Harry continued kissing Draco’s neck and collarbone. His hands were roaming over Draco’s body, making him feel hot all over.

Harry lifted Draco’s t-shirt and with a bit of help from Draco got completely rid of it.

Harry was staring down at Draco, and Draco could feel himself becoming embarrassed.

Before Draco could tell him not to stare, Harry started tracing his chest once more. He slowly made his way to his nipples.

He pinched them slightly, making Draco gasp. “Fuck…” Harry all but whispered, making Draco think he might’ve fucked up by being way too sensitive. He probably turned him off completely by it.

Before he could continue his thoughts, Harry leaned down and planted a kiss on his right nipple. 

“H-Harry” Draco whimpered.

Harry started licking his nipple, while fondling the other at the same time.

Draco couldn’t help but enjoy the pleasure. He had no idea that he would be this sensitive. Considering the fact that he had never been in a relationship before, he was on unknown territory. 

“Is it okay to go further?” Harry asked, and Draco could only nod, as he didn’t think his voice would work properly at this point. 

Harry slowly unbuckled Draco’s belt before sliding his trousers down. 

“Wait!” Draco gripped Harry’s hands as he was about to pull down his briefs as well.

“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything painful, and if you’d like to stop just say so” Harry said not moving his hands as he was waiting for Draco’s answer.

“It’s not… I don’t want to stop, but if you…” Draco mumbled having to battle himself between wanting to feel more of Harry and the sudden fear he was feeling.

“I’m afraid I won’t recover from it, if you can’t get it up because of me” Draco said, knowing the new wave of heat to his face wouldn’t make much of a difference on how he was already looking.

Harry took a moment to look at Draco, it made him uncomfortable with not knowing if it would end with him saying it’s probably best to stop or something like that. 

“Love… I’m already having a hard time trying to keep it together as is…” Harry shifted and brought Draco’s hand towards him. Draco was still a bit caught up at the word Harry used to address him. It made him feel his heartbeat do a double.

“I do believe I can say with certainty that I won’t be turned off” Draco’s breath caught in his throat for a moment as he felt his hand caress over Harry’s pants. He was definitely hard, there was no denying that.

Draco swallowed as he let go of the hand that was still holding on to Harry. 

Harry released Draco’s other hand after planting a kiss on it. Then he went back to what he had been doing.

The briefs were quickly discarded, and Draco unconsciously tried to cover himself. He had never been in this situation before, and he couldn’t help the embarrassment. 

“Let me see you” Harry said as he carefully guided Draco’s hands away from their position between his legs. 

Harry slid his hand down Draco’s stomach before positioning himself properly between Draco’s legs.

He took both his legs and lifted them slightly before kissing Draco’s inner thigh. That sent waves of pleasure up Draco’s body. He clenched the sheets as he felt his body shiver with each kiss getting closer to his cock.

As Harry reached his cock, he slid one finger slowly down the shaft. 

“P-please!” Draco managed to gasp out. His cock was throbbing, and he could feel himself building up. 

“I haven’t done this before, so you’ll have to excuse my lack of skills” Harry said as he leaned down and gave the tip a kiss before putting it into his mouth. 

The feeling was incredible. Draco could hear himself moan loudly as he felt the pleasure wash over him. He had never experienced anything like this before.

Draco reached down and got hold of Harry’s black hair, feeling the softness of it as he tried not to push down.

He could feel the heat building up “I’m-“ Draco couldn’t finish his sentence before it was too late. 

He felt the force of the orgasm hit him deep. It was nothing like jacking off by yourself, no this was a completely different level.

For a moment he just closed his eyes as he rode out the bliss of it all.

“Cough” Draco quickly opened his eyes as he heard Harry coughing. 

“Ah! Shit! Are you alright” Draco panicked a bit, as he saw Harry’s mouth covered in white, dripping down the side of his lip.

Harry only chuckled a bit before saying “I’m fine, don’t worry”. He wiped his mouth a bit, before looking back at Draco.

“You’re panicking way more than necessary” He said as he saw the wide-eyed look on Draco’s face. 

“I’ll get you some water” Draco said, but before he could get up from the bed, Harry pulled him back down.

“That’s a serious mood kill you know” Harry almost laughed.

“If you’re up for it, I’d like to try going a bit further” Draco looked at Harry, amazed at his resilience in such a situation. 

Draco lied back down, nodding at Harry to continue.

“I won’t go all the way since I’m assuming this is new for you as well. I think it’s enough to do this much, and then we can work on getting you used to it later” Harry said as he got out some lube stashed in the cupboard. 

“You know quite a lot, huh…” Draco said, a bit surprised at the knowledge of the supposed straight man.

“Well, after I told you I wanted to try this, I did do some light research. The moment I realised I did love you, I started doing some in-depth research” Harry winked at Draco.

All Draco could think was that Harry looked especially attractive when he was showing off his determination and confidence. 

“Do you mind turning around?” Harry said, as he had removed his trousers and boxers all together and was coating his cock with lube. Draco noted the size of it. It was thick and long. 

With the help of Harry to steady his shaking legs, Draco turned around. 

“Just lift your hips up a bit” Harry got hold of Draco’s hips and steadied him with some pillows beneath his stomach.

“I’m just going to use your legs for now, so try keeping them close together” He said as he positioned himself properly behind Draco.

This was definitely new to Draco and he was trying his best to keep up with Harry’s pace. It felt a bit reassuring that Harry seemed rather confident at what he was doing. Draco also noted that Harry was still as hard as ever, which was the biggest reassurance of all.

Harry held tightly on to Draco’s hips as he started sliding his cock between his thighs. 

Draco could feel himself burning up from embarrassment. He felt so vulnerable and exposed. Yet, strangely, in all the passion and embarrassment there was a soothing sense of security as well. He felt safe being at the mercy of Harry. 

“Fuck” Harry huffed as he had picked up his pace, sliding back and forth. His cock was sliding against Draco’s and Draco could feel his own cock reacting to the friction. It wasn’t long until he was hard again.

“Just the view is enough to send me over” Harry gasped as he looked down on Draco’s back, it looked like he was actually properly making love to him.

Draco arched his back as he moaned at the fast pace Harry was moving at. Just hearing Harry’s hitched breath behind him and feeling the strong hands gripping his hips made him feel a second wave of heat rise up.

“I-“ Draco could hardly breathe properly at this point.

“Me too!” Harry gasped, before both of them came simultaneously. 

Draco felt some of the cum from both of them mixing at his chest, while the rest fell to the sheets below him.

Harry sighed as he carefully turned Draco over and put him down on the bed, trying to avoid the mix of cum. 

Harry lied down next to Draco after giving him a deep kiss. 

“Do you still think I won’t be turned on by you?” Harry glanced at Draco with a smile threatening to form.

Draco just turned and laid his head on Harry’s chest. “That was…” 

“I hope you’re going to say something along the lines of good, great or amazing. If not, then please let me linger a bit longer in my own bliss” Harry joked as he stroked Draco’s hair.

“Was it good for you too…?” Draco said looking up through strands of hair that had become ruffled by the previous actions.

“You know… I’ve been in relationships before, but I’ve never felt like this. Not even going all the way, and I still feel more content by this than anything else. I had no idea you could be this sexy” Harry said, keeping the serious tone throughout it all.

“There’s no way I’m…” Draco couldn’t finish the sentence before Harry spoke “Don’t sell yourself short here. You were absolutely gorgeous”.

Draco felt the heat return to his cheeks as he looked away from Harry’s gaze, entwining his hand in Harry’s.

“I love you” 

“I love you too” Draco said before giving Harry a deep and lasting kiss.


	12. Take it up a notch

The next months had been the best so far in Draco’s life. 

Going to work wasn’t stressing him out as much as it used to, mainly because he knew he could end the day by sitting in front of a fireplace and watching a movie, or talking to the person he loved.

Everything felt so fulfilled in his life. It was like he had finally managed to find the happiness he was always searching for.

The only times he felt a bit sad was whenever he had to say goodbye to Harry and head home to the villa. 

It had fascinated Draco at first when he realised that he was still missing Harry even after spending most of the day with him. 

Draco was trying to avoid showing too much of his neediness and would only occasionally come up with excuses as to why it would be better for him to just stay the night at Harry’s place. 

Harry never seemed bothered by it and would tell him he was always welcomed to stay. 

Harry had made several obvious gestures as to wanting Draco to sleep in his room, and Draco was just happy he didn’t have to try and come up with reasons as to why it would be better for him to stay with Harry at night as well.

The weeknights were mostly spent with both of them cuddling and falling asleep in each other’s arms.

The weekends were a bit more… eventful… if you could call it that.

The first time Draco started it. He had been more interested in THAT aspect of the relationship ever since their first intimate night together. 

Harry had showed a second of surprise on his face from the persistence of Draco before letting himself be drawn into the blonde’s actions.

They had still not gone all the way. Harry was adamant about getting Draco used to it slowly and would only go as far as fingering him. 

Draco felt a bit of gratefulness from it, as he was not fond of pain and had been scared of being on the receiving end. Yet, Harry seemed more experienced, so Draco trusted him.

Just the pleasure from rubbing their cocks together had been more than enough to satisfy Draco for quite some time. He enjoyed the closeness and seeing Harry feel good because of him. 

Soon thought… Draco thought, he hoped to be able to go the final step. He had started becoming more and more interested with the slow change from feeling weird having something shoved into him to it actually starting to feel good. 

\----

“This…” Harry just looked in awe for a moment “I knew you were probably well off, but this is pretty epic”.

Draco followed Harry’s gaze as he looked around the villa.

“It’s… well I guess it’s pretty nice” Draco said, thinking he preferred Harry’s warm and cosy flat over this place. There were too many memories of him feeling lonely and sad for him to properly enjoy the richness of it.

“I can’t believe you live here” Harry started inspecting the chandelier that was towering over the large dining table.

“It doesn’t have to same feeling though…” Draco mumbled to himself. 

“And look at that view! You must love it here” Harry was bouncing back and forth between all the new things he hadn’t seen before.

“I’d rather live at your place”

Harry swirled around with big eyes searching Draco’s own.

“You mean that?” He said seriously.

“Huh?” Draco felt confused for a second.

“You’d rather want to live with me?” 

Oh no… Draco didn’t think he had said it out loud. He had only meant to think it, and now he had just spilled some pretty serious stuff onto Harry without meaning to.

“I… Er… I’m sorry. I was just…” Draco wasn’t entirely sure where he was going with his sentence at this point. He couldn’t say that he was joking, because that would be a total lie. But he wasn’t sure if something like this would freak Harry out or not.

“If you’re serious, then let me think about it for a bit as well. I want to properly consider it as well” Harry said. Draco could only nod there he stood as Harry gave him a reassuring kiss. 

\---

“You coming to bed?” Draco was torn away from his reading as he heard Harry’s voice. He was leaning against the doorframe with hair still wet from the shower. 

“Yeah! I got a bit caught up in the book. I’ll go to bed now as well.” Draco said placing the book down on the table and putting his teacup into the sink. 

As Draco brushed his teeth’s he realised just how comfortable he had become at staying over at Harry’s place. In a way it had already started to feel like he belonged here more than in his own villa.

Draco put his pyjamas on and headed into the bedroom. Harry had already climbed into bed and had put his glasses on the nightstand.

“You know… it’s quite nice to be coming out of the shower and seeing you in my flat.” Harry grinned as Draco slipped into the bed beside him.

“Yeah?” Draco said, kissing him. “I’m glad to hear that.” He smiled back, as Harry deepened the kiss more.

Draco felt himself shudder as Harry started kissing his neck and collarbone. He lifted his head giving more space for Harry to explore. 

Harry continued on lifting his t-shirt and kissing down his stomach, making Draco gasp and shiver as he started stroking his thighs. 

“Do tell me if you want to stop.” Harry said as he hesitated with one finger lingering at the edge of Draco’s pyjama pants. 

“God no!” Draco gasped as he was having a hard time not forcing Harry’s hand down his pants.

Harry chuckled as he grabbed hold of Draco’s pyjama pant and underwear, sliding it down to reveal his hard on.

Harry slowly started kissing Draco’s thighs and as he moved closer and closer to his cock, Draco was whimpering more and more.

“Please…” Draco could only mutter as it felt agonizing to have Harry touch him all over but not where he truly wanted it. 

Harry seemed to understand Draco’s desperate plea, and with a smirk leaned down to take him into his mouth.   
“Fuck!” Draco gasped as he clutched onto Harry’s black hair. Carefully Harry started sucking him off, and it was sending waves of pleasure through Draco’s body. 

Everything leading up to the sucking had already made Draco dripping wet, and having Harry suck him off, licking and sucking at the most sensitive spots, Draco couldn’t help feeling it build up inside of him.

“I’m gonna…” Draco couldn’t finish his sentence before he came into Harry’s mouth. It was a feeling of pure ecstasy, and he sighed as he finally managed to come back to his senses.

“You’re beautiful…” Harry mumbled as he looked down on Draco. He started cleaning him off, but Draco stopped his hand.

“You… I mean, if you want to then you can go… You know… further.” Draco felt himself wince at his own wording, but he couldn’t help but feel nervous and slightly embarrassed when thinking about taking it further. However, he had already started obsessing with the thought of having Harry inside of him. 

“You sure?” Harry asked a bit surprised. They had taken it slow and steady so far, but Harry couldn’t deny that he had wanted to take it further as well when Draco felt ready for it.

“Definitely.” Draco said, leaning up to kiss him.

Harry grabbed the lube stashed inside the nightstand and poured some into his hand. “It might feel a bit cold at first.” Draco gasped as he felt the semi-cold lube touch his skin. 

Harry started smearing the lube around Draco’s hole. He circled his finger a few times before he gently pressed against his entrance.

They had already gone as far as Harry pushing his fingers inside of him, and Draco had started to get used to it more and more. 

“Try to relax if you can” Harry said as he once more gave a light nudge towards Draco’s hole.

Draco took a deep breath and relaxed. It made it easier for Harry to carefully and slowly nudge his finger inside of Draco. 

It felt like eternity, where Draco was focusing on his breath while Harry slowly pushed his finger in and out of him.

“Is it okay to add another one?” Harry asked. Draco nodded; he wasn’t feeling any discomfort at all.

Two fingers were going out and in steadily, and Draco didn’t feel any pain from it. It just felt… weird, like it wasn’t enough anymore.

“Tell me if it hurts, alright?” Harry said, squeezing Draco’s thigh lightly in reassurance.

“It… just feels strange…” Draco said, trying to breathe steadily. 

Harry continued pushing in a third finger, which went in with ease at this point. Draco moaned as he felt him push back and forth inside of him. 

Harry eventually took his fingers out, earning himself a small whimper from the loss of contact. 

“Are you ready?” Harry seemed more worried about this than Draco. “I am.” Draco said, smiling as he readied himself.

Harry positioned himself in-between Draco’s legs, and slowly nudged his cock into his hole. 

It went in easier than Draco thought it would, considering the size of it. The many times he had been fingered had definitely paid off. 

“Fuck!” Harry closed his eyes as he slid in deeper. “You’re so tight.”

Harry held Draco’s hips as he pressed in further. “I’m all in now.” He huffed.

“You can move.” Draco gasped, after a minute of adjusting himself to being completely filled up. 

Harry started slowly pulling out and then pushing back in again. The rhythm was uneven and slow at first, but as he continued the rhythm started steadying more and it got faster.

“Ah! It’s…” Draco gasped as he clutched the bedsheets. “It’s good!” He managed to get out through heavy breaths. 

Then he suddenly gasped loudly as he felt something he hadn’t felt before. “There!” He managed to moan out. “Here?” Harry panted as he tried to hit the same spot over again.

“No, a bit more-“ Once again, Draco could barely breathe out the words as Harry hit the spot. “Yes!” He gasped. 

“Fuck! You’re clenching down on me so hard.” Harry panted. 

The quick pace and heavy thrusting made Draco feel incredible. He moaned loudly as he tried to communicate that he was close.

Harry gripped his hand tightly and leaned in to kiss him, while they both came hard. Draco felt his back arch up as he came, while feeling the hot mess inside of him. 

Harry slowed his thrusting and rode out the orgasm with his eyes closed.

\---

Harry slowly pulled out and rolled over next to Draco.

“I…” Harry said, catching his breath. “I’d like for us to live together as well”.

Draco felt his breath stop for a second as he turned to Harry with wide eyes. “Really?” He said, almost not believing what Harry had just said.

“Of course! I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, and I already decided that I wanted to. And being together with you like this, it just made me feel even more certain that it is the right choice. I love you and coming home to you being here or waiting for you to come home…” Harry turned to Draco and stroked his cheek before speaking softly “It would be the best feeling in the world”. 

Draco could feel tears pressing at his eyes. He had never felt this loved and wanted his whole life. Not like this… Not from someone who was filled with unlimited love for him.

“You better not regret it…” He sniffed, earning a chuckle from Harry “I won’t” He said before kissing Draco.

\--

“Is this the last of it?” Harry looked rather stunning as he was wearing a t-shirt and carrying a moving box that made his muscles stand out in full view for Draco to drool over.

“Yeah, that’s it”.

“Alright then” They loaded the car before heading back to Harry’s place.

Harry had been more than surprised when Draco had told him he would prefer Harry’s flat rather than his villa. 

“And you are sure of this? I mean, I love my flat and it’s convenient for me, but it wouldn’t stop me from moving here if you want to. This is far bigger than what I have to offer.” He said with a worried look on his face as they stood in the living room of his flat having managed to get all of the moving boxes inside before the rain started pouring, splashing against the windows. 

“Your place is ten times better than mine. It has every necessity, but most importantly it has warmth…” Draco said looking around the living room and feeling the calmness wash over him. This was now the place he would spend his time, a place where he could feel happiness and warmth wherever he looked. It was perfect.

“My place is something I got from my father as a work gift, I hate it…” Draco scoffed.

Harry had put his arms around him, embracing him for a moment. It had made all the feelings of bitterness go away in a blink of an eye.

“Then my place it is…” Harry said softly into Draco’s neck.

“Yes…” Draco muttered in confirmation, pulling him in tighter.

Harry pulled away ever so slightly to look at Draco. He gave him a lopsided grin as he added.

“Our place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for having followed this story to the end! :)


End file.
